AN: Hi everyone! I am totally new to Fanfiction, so I hope you like my first story. I just love Castle so much, I couldn't resist. All comments and reviews are welcome. This will be a multi-chapter story if you guys like this first chapter. Admittedly, this first chapter has a slow start, but I promise you will like the next chapters. Very Cascketty!

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own these characters, but I hope I do them justice.

Kate Beckett sat back in her seat and huffed in annoyance for the fifth time that morning. She was starting to wonder what the hell was going on. She looked up at Josh across the table and squinted, trying to come up with a possible explanation for what had just happened.

"Josh, did you see that?" Kate asked, her forehead lined in worry.

"See what?" he questioned, his mouth full of the bacon and eggs he'd been trying to shove simultaneously into his mouth.

Kate cringed and sighed. Maybe this speedy breakfast between surgeries at Remy's hadn't been the best idea. Josh wasn't even making conversation; he was just filling his mouth as fast as possible. She sighed again and glanced back up at the waitress, who swiftly looked away, but not before Kate caught the look of pure hatred on the women's face.

"Kate?" Josh was staring at her, confused and clearly wondering why she wasn't eating.

"That waitress" Kate hissed in a lower voice. "She keeps giving me the evil eye."

Josh just blinked at her.

"So…" he said, drawing the word out with one eyebrow arched.

"SO, I want to know why!" Kate whispered, watching the waitress behind the curtain of hair that fell over her shoulder. She didn't understand. Maybe Josh didn't get it because he wasn't a detective, but Kate knew that human beings (for the most part) reacted to predictable situations predictably. The fact that the waitress had served her on many occasions in the past and been perfectly pleasant, even friendly, only reinforced the confusion that Kate felt.

"Are you going to eat that?" Josh asked her, eying her full plate. Kate glanced back at him and shoved her food across the table.

"Go ahead," she muttered, "I'm not hungry."

"Thanks!" he smiled, and picked up his fork again. "This food is fantastic! How did you find this place?"

"Oh, Castle and I stopped here randomly one day on the way back to the precinct from a crime scene…" Kate trailed off and snuck a peek at Josh's face, knowing she'd ruined his appetite. She rolled her eyes at the darkened expression on his face. Ever since Castle had reentered her life (and consequently her work stories) Josh had taken an immediate dislike to him. It was to the point where mentioning Castle could potentially ruin an entire date.

"Oh" Josh said, and predictably put his fork down and pushed the plate away. "Well…I have to get back to the hospital…" Josh said quickly, ducking his head to avoid Kate's exasperated gaze.

"Fine" Kate gritted her teeth. "Will I see you tonight or should I head to the Old Haunt with the boys after work?" she arched her brows, implying that 'boys' included Castle.

"No!" Josh almost shouted. "No," he said again, lowering his voice and getting up from the table. "I'll be there" he smiled, leaned over and pecked her lips before leaving.

Kate started to get up herself, but managed to catch the same waitress, now glaring at her from behind the front counter. That was it. Kate was a nice person, which meant giving someone the benefit of the doubt – perhaps the waitress was just having a shitty day, or had just been dumped. Any number of possibilities ran through Kate's mind. But the fact was, the woman was not glaring at random restaurant patrons. She was solely glaring at Kate, and it was time to find out why. She stood up from the table and made her way to the cash register. As incensed as she was (her mood had not been improved by Josh's parting words), Kate knew she'd get a more satisfactory explanation from the woman if she remained pleasant and calm. So when she said, "Excuse me?" to the woman behind the counter, she smiled and spoke softly. However, when the woman completely ignored her and turned to talk to a colleague, Kate was angry. "Excuse me, what is your problem?" she said in a much louder voice, speaking with interrogation room authority and forcing the waitress to respond.

"Problem? I don't see a problem." the waitress intoned sweetly, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Kate frowned. Normally her 'authority' voice and the fact that her badge and gun were prominently displayed on her hip invoked certain predictable reactions in the people she questioned, whether or not they were in an interrogational setting. This waitress was not conforming to the rules.

"Well I DO see a problem," Kate ground out, putting one hand on the counter and leaning in closer to the waitress, glancing down at her nametag. "You've been glaring at me all morning, Meghan."

"You're right" Meghan stated nonchalantly, and began folding cutlery into napkins efficiently.

Kate stood up straight and continued to stare at Meghan with disbelief. "Well, WHY?" Kate's voice was now not only annoyed but frustrated and shrill as well.

Meghan stopped folding and met Kate's gaze for the first time. Her expression was troubled and anxious, but anger was present as well, which only confused Kate further.

"Look," Meghan stated without dropping her gaze. "I've seen you in here plenty of times, right? I'm sure you seen me before" she said, and looked at Kate, who was nodding in confirmation. "You seemed like such a nice person – you were always kind to me, you left a good tip, and you even bothered to treat me with respect, which is not exactly the norm in the service industry. You also always came in with Mr. Castle." And here she paused, looking at Kate to see if the name had caused a reaction.

Kate was now more bewildered than ever. What did this have to do with Castle? When she'd found this place with Castle, they'd both agreed that the food was fantastic. But the main reason they came back again and again was not for the food. The service was great, but beyond that, no one bothered them. If anyone recognized Castle as the famous author Richard Castle, they either didn't show it or they didn't care. The lack of hype suited both of them just fine.

Kate's curiosity was piqued. Meghan was angry, that was certain, and it had something to do with Castle. It was also clear, however, that it had nothing to do with Castle's celebrity status. Meghan seemed angry with Kate specifically.

"Yes, I usually come for dinner or lunch with Castle" Kate confirmed, prompting Meghan to continue.

"Well," Meghan said, her expression relating her confusion with Kate's response, "when that guy came in to meet you today, he kissed you when he sat down. And based on that I can only assume that you are cheating on your boyfriend Mr. Castle with this new guy."

Kate's eyebrows shot up with Meghan's admission. What the hell? Why did Meghan assume that she and Castle were dating?