A/n: Ok so, I'm not usually into Taylor Swift-esk music, ya' know... lovesick girly country. But I was cruising threw YouTube a few days and heard this song- Enchanted. It kind of struck me, and I kept listening to it, and it's refused to detach itself from my brain... trailing on and on. So I decided to take my battle with it to fanfiction. :) This isn't exactly a songfic. There's only one line from the song in the thing that's in normal songfic format, and of course the title is named after the song. I hope you enjoy this.
This is a short series of fics about moments when Castle is 'enchanted' to meet the mysterious detective Kate Beckett.
Enchanted To Meet Her
Definition: of enchanted; adj
1. under a spell; bewitched; magical
2. utterly delighted or captivated; fascinated; charmed
Chapter: Fan girl
The line trailed for what felt like miles. Or at least it felt that way.
It snaked and turned, curved off behind a stack of books or a display but kept going beyond unseen from afar. The inhabitants of the ever winding line shook, squealed, and giggled. Many were there for similar things. For some, what had brought them to this book store that afternoon was that they'd have maybe 2 minutes with Rick Castle; a signature on his new book, a smile, maybe if they were lucky- a wink. The crowds were filled with all kinds- teens, blushing girls, blushing women in their 20s, middle aged women, a sprinkle of gay men, basically anyone who'd taken the time to read the entire novel or just picked it up in the library and turned it over to see the huge photograph of the handsome, smiling man on the other side. The book had stricken a cord with them somehow, maybe the plot, maybe the characters; maybe it was the author himself they were interested in.
But for one woman what had brought her here was- justice. What had drawn her to this book signing was the idea that the book had a happy ending; to her it meant that maybe she could have a happy ending. Sort like a gruesome fairytale; though horrid all had been good in the end. Its final words had meant that the evil in the character's word had been eradicated in some way. The main character had gotten his justice, he'd gotten closure. There had been peace after what had happened- how ever gruesome. Kate Beckett wanted closure; she wanted that feeling of peace.
She wanted justice.
She stood in the line like everyone else; she'd snaked closer and closer to the big table with its plastic table cloth, its display, and its stack of books. After waiting two and a half hours the picture on the back of her novel was in proportion with the face before her. He had the same Cheshire smile, his hair coifed in the same way. His posture was self confident and rebellious. The only difference was his shirt which was dark blue, to the book's blood red. She stared at the back of the glossy hard cover and the eyes of the author and saw the justice she'd searched for. As the girl in front of her turned and walked away, Kate saw him.
He looked preoccupied, and stared at his hands.
"Mr. Castle?"
"Hmm," He looked up quickly. He looked groggy. "That's me." In one quick fluid motion he snatched up his fountain pen, clicked it, and poised it for signing.
He took her book and opened it just as quickly. "Name please."
"Oh, um... Kate." She looked at him, in a sort of shock she wasn't used to. A nervous feeling, her words had been spat out with an inhuman quickness. This was an alien feeling for the Stanford grad that'd only just recently enrolled in her preliminary training as a police officer. She took him in: his face, his voice, his posture. Kate suddenly felt like a high school freshman being face-to-face with some insanely popular senior she had a crush on. She would someday have a name for the feeling: 'Fangirl-itus', as Castle would jokingly call it- but that would years later. No, for now his presence loomed over her. Her heart almost stopped.
She breathed in and out quickly, as if she'd forgotten how to breathe in the moments before.
"Do you have a last name gorgeous?" Rick Castle smirked. He'd been looked at her, giving her a once over. He liked what he saw.
"Yeah, uh: Beckett, Kate Beckett." She looked down at her shoes bit her lip. What was she? A love-sick teen? Why couldn't she compose herself? Kate tried her best to collect her thoughts. Come on, get it together Kate! She assembled her 'game face', and turned her eyes back to the author.
"Ahh... well here you go Kate. Have a nice day." He said her name as he penned it, as if he was trying to remember it.
There was a moment's pause. Neither moved: there wasn't anything else to be said or to be done. What am I supposed to say, your books helped me through my mother's murder, I 'm obsessed with them. Kate thought. The book stayed on the table. Kate felt the world settle, and go silent. She looked into his eyes and saw the man that had showed her justice and what it felt like. It would be years before she would have justice for her mother's murder but on that day she met the man who showed her justice for the first time. This man would inspire her to strive for it and would later help her get that much wanted justice as her partner, her friend, her confidant and later her husband. In his eyes she saw that peace she had craved.
In her eyes he saw strength. He admired that.
"Eh! Come on, there's people behind you lady!"
A shrill voice broke her silence. Kate turned around, a middle aged woman with a face like a hawk and a voice to match, was yelling at her to go.
She picked up her book and held it to her chest, whispered "Thank you." and took her exit; her steps echoed off in the direction of the big double doors.
"Next?"
"Oh *cough*- Carmen Wallis." The hawk-faced woman said warmly, her face suddenly transformed into the face of innocence quite a contrast to the face she'd given Kate Beckett.
Kate Beckett turned back through the glass double doors; her eyes flicked to the man at the table. She smiled, then turned on a dime and strode back into her life- never letting that moment at the book store leave her mind. She would forever be in debt to the man who showed her glory. But at that moment she didn't know to the full extent. He had and would save her life.
(Break)
Richard Castle had watched the beautiful young woman leave. He wondered what plagued her and wished he could get that sad look off her pretty face. He'd been enchanted by her face, the way her eyes watched him. He felt for her, and would write her name down on a napkin later at lunch and try to remember it. He'd lose the napkin, and forget her name, but Richard Castle would never forget that look in eyes. That strength, that heartache; they always stayed with him.
He'd didn't know that one day, he'd help her find the man that'd killed her mother, would help her get rid of him, that one day he would love her and marry her. He didn't know that one day he would be her strength.
A/n: Did you like it? Should I continue?
I was hoping to do another couple chapters, like when he meets at the beginning of the series, when she wakes up after the last finale, when they get married, ect... any ideas?
Lotsa love,
Your princess of horror.
A/n(UPDATE): I think I like this story just the way it is. :D It'll stay a one shot.
