A/N: Came up with this story a while back, but have yet to start writing it. So I started and thought I'd post it and see how you guys like it.
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
She was counting the cracks of the side walk as she made her way slowly to her desk job. She hated it. This place was too cold, often times, too dark, it wasn't like home. Before, she walked with her head held high, confidence dripping off of her with every step she took, never backing down from any one. But now, she was quiet, reserved, never speaking to anyone unless they approached her, even then, she would usually give short answers, and shy away. The only people who knew her name were the Barista, the receptionist, and her boss. Most other people called her 'Hey you', or the ever popular one, 'Hey baby', when ever she decided to go out for a drink, which nowadays, was not very often.
Hearing the bell tower ring loudly, indicating that it was not eight o'clock, she didn't bother increasing her pace, even though she was suppose to be at work right now. A cold chill decided to whip through the air, aimed right at her, attempting to stop her slow pursuit. She lifted the collar of her green army jacket and braced herself against the cold, her short, blonde hair offering no warmth at all. She was just across the bridge when the tower stopped chiming, and she sighed a heavy sigh, and let her shoulders deflate as she reached for the door of the cafe she stopped at every morning.
"Hey there, Kara." Called out the Barista from across the counter, with an excited wave, and a bright smile.
"Hey Kristy." Kara said shyly, and began to shake off the flurries of snow that were beginning to fall outside.
"Usual for ya?"
"Same as always." Kristy was nice. She was always in a good mood, always bickering with her older brother, a rebellious anarchist philosopher who always had a quote from some one, usually something pertaining to the oppression of government, or something.
"Alrighty, it will just be a minute, then." Kristy began to jump from station to station, as she prepared her order. "One sugar free latte, with two pumps vanilla, and a bear claw." Kara grabbed up her order, and placed the money on counter.
"Could you add a suspended to that too?"
"Feeling generous today?"
"With a golden heart, comes a rebel fist, Tomas Khalnoky." Timothy called out from the corner.
"Oh shut it, Tim!" Kara let out a small chuckle, before making her leave.
It was taken a while, and hours of practicing, and reciting, to train herself to respond to the name Kara, Kara Sanders. Her new identity, and as far as the rest of the world is concerned, her only. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Kate Beckett had left this world a year ago next week. She stopped just outside the cafe, and looked down the street to see pedestrians start to filter out into the streets, collars up turned against the cold wind. She let out another sigh, took a sip of her coffee, and started down the street again. Mr. Anderson was going to have her head on a plate for being late twice in the same week, but she didn't care. She just didn't care any more.
Every now and again, she would catch a train across town to a small, but popular jazz bar, to hear the local talent. But every time she did, and even some times on the streets, she would catch herself scanning the faces on the train, or on the way to work, or while at the store, with just a small glimmer of hope to see him. But she never did, and she knew she never would again. She still read the news article every night before she went to bed. 'Best selling author dies in car pile up. World mourns lose of Richard Castle.'
She knew it wasn't true, none of it was true, but slowly, it had become truth. Richard Castle was dead. He had died the same time she did. She didn't even get to say good bye. It was probably for the best. Maybe not getting a chance to say good bye, meant that it wasn't good bye, may be it was an 'Until Tomorrow'. But she was never a hopeful optimist.
The wind picked up again, and she braced herself against it by taking another sip of her quickly cooling coffee, slowing her steps so the liquid would pass down her throat smoothly. She continued down the street, that was quickly becoming infested with passers by, and she was quickly getting annoyed. At least there was some part of home here. When a man running down the side walk hit her shoulder, it sent her coffee flying toward the ground, but the man continued to run down the side walk, his bright neon green work out shirt quickly disappearing behind the trench coats and brief cases. "Nice going!" She yelled out as she shook off her fingers, and her shoe to get the coffee off. Another good morning here in the UK, felt more like New York every day.
She let her head fall as she continued down the street, she looked at her small, mostly decoration watch and saw that she was now fifteen minutes late. She let out yet another sigh of defeat, and continued down the crowded street. This bear claw was going to leave a bad taste in her mouth with out her coffee to wash it down with. She might as well throw it away now. She still had about three blocks to go till she got to the office, but she was still in no rush. She was already late, and was going to get yelled at anyway, what was the point now. "Good morning, Kara."
"Oh, morning, Ms Henderson." Kara said to the old woman just walking down her stoop.
"You look a little down today, what cloud is looming over you today?"
"Same one." She said flatly, and continued down the street again, a little more sulk in her step then before. Great, usual Ms. Henderson reminding her just how depressed she was.
Rounding another corner, she caught site of her office entrance, not like she was at all happy to finally be at work. She dodged a few more pedestrians before quickly crossing the street. Once safely across, she slowed down her pace a little and let her gaze fall down to the ground again. Where had her life gone to? Just last year, her boyfriend and her had been arguing about who really snored, and who didn't. Just last year, they were making love like they were never going to see each other again, like they always did. But neither of them knew that they would actually never see each other again. Now, she had very, very few friends, and the ones she had, they considered her some what of an outsider, the guys she did meet were always never enough. She always found herself saying his eyes aren't as bright as his, or his hair isn't as soft as his, or simply, he just isn't him.
With her gaze still locked upon the cracks between the side walk slabs of concrete, she didn't even register the hard bump she received with a passer by. She simply said her usual apology, and continued on her way, like always. "Sorry."
"Kate?" She stopped absolutely dead in her tracks. It wasn't the name that had stopped her, or the inflection, which was hopefully uplifting. It was the timber of the voice, the dark and subtle vibrato that the voice had when it uttered the name. She had heard this voice in her dreams, both night and day, but it had been so long that she almost couldn't match it with a face... almost. Her pulse raced inside her throat, a cold sweat broke out over her, and she was beginning to tremble, the only way she could tell was by the feeling of the small paper bag fall from her hand. She knew this voice more than she knew her own. There was only one person that this soft voice belonged to. She turned around slowly, and in that instance... everything... everything...
"Castle?"
A/N: More details will be revealed if this gets a good enough response. I just had this idea, and decided to roll with it. So it would please me very much to know what you think of it. Thank you for reading though :)
~Major.