-One-
It is one of those harried Tuesday mornings. Gulping down bursts of her scalding hot coffee, Kate dodges a group of freshmen on her way to her class. Advanced Criminal Law with Professor Cromwell. It doesn't matter that she's had six weeks of class with this man; he still terrifies her and most of her class. There is no way she's going to be late. Professor Cromwell is renowned for picking on latecomers mercilessly, and she is not about to join their humiliated little group. Only one more year. One more year of law school and she'll be out, done, ready to move on with her life. God, she is so ready to be done. But she really can't afford to be fixated on that day where she gets to walk across the stage and collect her certificate. No, before then she still has to pass the infamous Crommonster's class.
Slightly out of breath, she pushes the door to the classroom open minutes before class begins. The professor is not yet there and Kate sighs with relief, settling in an empty seat next to her friend, Michelle. Laying out her books and uncapping her pen, she leans back, collecting herself before the intellectual onslaught of Cromwell's class. Before she can even open her notebook, the professor saunters in.
"Geez, you barely made it, Kate." Michelle glances at her from the corner of her eye.
"Right? I got held up by my roommate. Relationship drah-mah! I tell you, if Lanie doesn't sort this thing out with this guy she won't ever get through med."
"Hmm, well-" Michelle cuts herself off. Professor Cromwell has begun, not even waiting the accepted period for the chitchat to subside. Dragging her rolling eyes from Michelle's, Kate flips open her book to a fresh page. Nine months. Only nine months until she can leave school behind and get on with her life.
One hundred and nineteen minutes later, Kate rubs her eyes with the heel of her palm. Who knew consent was such a touchy issue? Surely a person said yes or no? Apparently not. Apparently there are fifty thousand other things a person has to take into account to determine if there is consent. That class was way beyond what they covered in the compulsory criminal law subject. Now they are mired in the murky waters of intoxicated consent, or implied consent, or even coerced consent. Not for the first time since beginning this degree, Kate wonders what humanity is coming to. To what level of depravity are people willing to sink in order to fulfil bizarre or sick needs? Glancing over at Michelle, Kate sees her own queasiness reflected. Coffee. They both need a break from the real world.
Reciting Michelle's coffee order in her head, Kate waits in line to place her order at her favourite campus coffee spot. She is so ready for the mid-semester break that starts on Friday. If she can suffer through four more days of class and work she'll get that glorious two weeks off to pretend to study for finals. She can even hear her mother's voice – "it's your last chance to understand the basic concepts of the relevant law before your finals, you need to understand what you do and don't follow so you can question your professors before it's too late…" Sometimes, Kate regrets following her parents' footsteps into the law. But then she thinks of the good she can do, has already helped to do at the firm she paralegals for, and she becomes reinvigorated.
"Hi there, what can I get for you?"
Kate starts. She's at the front of the queue.
"Oh, hi, um… Two grande skim lattes with a shot of vanilla, please. To go."
Handing over her money, Kate stands aside to wait for their orders, mind wondering over how she got where she stands. Her childhood was filled with villains and heroes, both real and imagined. A small smile skims across her face as she recalls her mother's bedtime stories. A young woman who fights her way through darkness to find the reward at the end of the trail. A young couple who battles evil nemeses to find solace in each other. There were definitely common threads in her mother's stories. Young, strong women who could fight for themselves and found happiness in themselves and others. Kate grins. Her mother has never been subtle, and she couldn't love her more for it.
As her mind drifts slowly over a favourite of her mother's stories, Kate stumbles as another person knocks her aside. Clutching the edge of the coffee shop's service counter, Kate stares. A man glances sheepishly at her before placing his order.
"Uh, a tall latte please. Nothing extra."
Kate's stare becomes a glare. How is it so hard to stand up still, not fumble all over the place and knock people about? The man appears to quiver at her stare as he pays.
"Hi, um, sorry about that. Lost my footing."
Kate glances at his even footing and the lack of any obstacles around him, one eyebrow slightly raised. "It's fine. No harm done." Taking a step back, Kate evades his eye. She's not quite sure why, but there's something about him she wants to avoid. Maybe it's that combination of boyishness, strength and just a hint of pain in his face. She can already tell how easily she could get pulled into this man.
"I'm Rick." He procures his hand to shake. "Sorry, again," he adds.
Barely withholding a smile, Kate takes his hand. "Kate," she mutters. "It's no problem."
As their hands connect, Kate's eyes meet with his despite her best efforts. They are startlingly blue. Holding his gaze a second too long, she smiles then drops her hand, ready to step back and politely wait for her drinks alone. Rick has other ideas.
"Are you studying?" He doesn't shift his eyes from hers, and she feels slightly trapped in his attention.
"Uh, yes. Law. Just this year left. You?"
"Oh, no. Just looking for inspiration."
A tiny wrinkle appears in her brow, and she's about to question this when, perhaps thankfully, her drink orders are called. Throwing Rick a small parting smile, she grabs the two cups and spins towards the table that Michelle has claimed.
Pushing Michelle's drink toward her, Kate grins.
"One grande skim latte with vanilla, just as the lady ordered. Best afternoon cure for overwhelming criminal law around."
As she settles herself in the seat, securing her handbag below the chair, Michelle grasps the cardboard cup, savouring a long sip.
"About time! What was the hold up? Or should I ask, who?" Michelle's eyes twinkle dangerously. Kate's not entirely sure what to make of it, until she spots the man, Rick, out of the corner of her eye. It appears he is still carefully watching them. Her? She feels the need to swallow heavily.
"Nothing… I guess it's just our luck to hit caffeine rush hour." Kate takes a long drink from her cup. It scalds her slightly but she doesn't flinch, very aware that Rick is still watching.
"What are you talking about, Kate? Be straight with me! That delicious hunk of a man is STILL staring at you! What on earth did you say to him?!"
Feeling a slight flush take over her cheeks, Kate dips her head. "I dunno, he just bumped into me. It's no big deal, Chelle. I'll probably never see him again."
Michelle stares. "I'm not sure… There's something about him that looks kinda familiar. Does he have a class with one of us?"
Kate shakes her head. "Not with me. Anyway, I gotta go. Contracts with Bourke. I'll see you tomorrow?"
As she wraps a hand lightly around Michelle's shoulder, Kate stands. Flipping her bag over her shoulder, grabbing her drink, Kate strides out of the café, appearing totally at ease.
But as she sits in her contracts class, forty-five minutes later, she can't quite shake his face from her mind. Rick. No, not Rick. Peppercorns. Something about the peppercorn principle and consideration. That's what her professor is talking about. She tries to concentrate, but she struggles. Maybe she'll just write this afternoon off – she didn't have a lot of sleep, after all. It'll be much easier to focus when she starts her criminal law assigning later that evening anyway, she's sure. When she sits down to write it, she'll definitely be able to concentrate. No doubt.
Stretching and rolling her neck slightly, Kate shifts her pen. She's in class, and then she has to write that criminal law paper. She has no time to consider that intriguing man from the coffee shop who seemingly couldn't stop staring at her. No time at all. Her thumb knuckles crack as she flexes them, ready to take a fresh set of notes. Focus. All she needs is focus, and that man is not part of it.
Two days later, Kate is sure he's stalking her. Well, maybe not. But she has caught sight of him twice more. Maybe she is unwittingly stalking him? No, that's insane. She's just been following her normal routine… with perhaps a few more stops at her favourite haunt for coffee than usual. But she's there so often the staff knows her coffee order, so she can hardly be accused of stalking someone there.
Shaking her head, Kate grabs her coffee, ignoring the slight pang at not having seen him today. Yet as she strides out the door, she collides heavily with someone, her coffee dangerously sloshing but mercifully not spilling.
"Oh! Sorry! Uh, hi… Rick?" Kate blushes. Would a person normally remember a name after just one meeting?
"Yes! No, my fault. Kate, isn't it?" He glances down, perhaps to see if her coffee has breached the little plastic sippy-cup lid. "I'd offer to get you a new coffee, but it appears you possess far greater physical coffee-equilibrium skills than me. But this makes it twice in a week I've nearly knocked you down… Could I possibly buy you dinner to make up for my blunders?"
Kate swallows. One year left. She has been trying to avoid any more distractions, since that last… thing… with her ex. But this man seems so sweet, so genuine. She can't help but be drawn in.
"I guess I can do dinner. A girl's gotta eat, after all." She's almost surprised to hear herself speak. "I have an assignment due Saturday afternoon, so how about that night?" If she hadn't heard her own voice form the words, she'd struggle to believe them.
"Saturday it is! How's eight?"
As they exchange numbers, Kate wonders what she's got herself into. Her last boyfriend was a sure-fire disaster, and she's not sure she can take another one. This Rick guy seems nice, but so did Mark, and he sure screwed her around monumentally. She shudders at the memory. Rick is not Mark. And it's just a dinner. She can do that. She can do dinner on Saturday night. And in the mean time, she can forget him and work on this hellish criminal law assignment for Cromwell. She absolutely can.
It's yet another two days later, on Saturday morning, and Kate Beckett stares at the document before her. The little blinking cursor taunts her, reminding her of her lack of focus, her inability to produce words on the screen. Last week it was fine. Last week she was able to look at her class assignments, identify the issues in the legal problems her professors produced. Last week she felt normal. This week was all confused. This week she didn't know which way was up.
It is all his fault. He is all that is running through her mind. Him, and those bizarre encounters, and those undoubtedly cute text messages he's been sending since they swapped numbers. She has more important things to focus on right now than what she'll wear tonight. Did he say what kind of place they would be going to? Wait, no, he's exceeded his share of her thoughts today; she has work to do with an imminent deadline. Turning back to her assignment, she tries valiantly to clear her mind, to rid her thoughts of any trace of him. Forcing herself to type a few words, she squints her eyes. All she has to do is forget him.
Of course, that is far easier said than done.
A/N
Hello! I've spent a lot of time lurking, but have never written anything myself before. Please let me know what you all think/if you think I should continue! This little idea has been festering inside my head for a little while now.
Though, I must confess that I have no actual idea how the justice system really works in the US, or what it is like being a law student there, so I hope you can all accept a little creative licence!
I'm very keen to know what you think, and whether this little idea is worth pursuing.