FOUR

Sitting on the subway after her shift, Kate did not pay much attention to anything other than the thoughts in her own head; she was too busy thinking about all the things she needed to get done that evening. In addition to household cleaning and copious amounts of laundry, she needed to purchase groceries for the week ahead, pick up her dry-cleaning, and find new winter boots for Abby since she'd outgrown her ones from the previous year. On top of all that, her gut was still pulsating with guilt for not staying at the precinct for longer after her shift—one of the rare nights she didn't have to pick up her daughter in a timely manner and she hadn't used it to catch up on paperwork, which was probably something she'd later regret.

Kate was so distracted with her thoughts that she didn't even notice the familiar figure standing in front of her until his second, purposefully obnoxious, throat clearing. When she glanced up, a breathy laugh escaped her lips thanks to his pointed stare; he really did know how to make an entrance. She pulled her bag into her lap to make room for him on the seat beside her and then echoed his cheerful greeting.

"I, ah, don't want to alarm you, but I think you're missing something."

She nodded; it was the first time he had seen her without her pint-sized companion, so she understood why he might be concerned even if his tone was playful. "In-service day at school—Abby's spending it with my father."

"Gotcha. Did you guys have a nice Thanksgiving?"

The detective shrugged. "It was fine, I guess; nothing special. Abby and I watched the parade in the morning and then we went to my dad's for dinner. How was yours?"

Castle nodded. "Good, good. We went up to Vermont for a few days to ski. Well, I helped Alexis ski the bunny slopes and my mother picked up men in the hotel—so a standard vacation for us." Kate's expression turned to one that was a mix of a smirk and a grimace and he waved his hand casually. "She's one of a kind, my mother, but after almost forty years I'm used to it."

"Guess you'd have to be."

They sat silently side by side as the train stopped at the next platform and then continued rolling on its way. As they started moving, Kate glanced over at the writer who sat with a pleasant expression on her face, his hands tucked between his knees. Despite the fact that he was sitting there beside her and they had interacted somewhat regularly over the prior month, it was still difficult for her to believe that Richard Castle was actually someone she could call an acquaintance (despite what her daughter thought he had not, in her mind, officially reached "friend" status yet).

On one hand it was hilarious that the man whose books once decorated her nightstand was conversing with her so casually. She had never in a million years thought she would meet up with him—outside of one of his signing events, that was. Yet, there he sat—after he'd sought her out, no less.

Even if he had not been a quasi-celebrity, Kate still would have been stunned by the metamorphosis that had taken place within her in four short weeks. Outside of her job where speaking with people was not an option but a necessity Kate had not willingly spoken to a strange man in quite some time. The reasons were varied, but suffice to say she just wasn't in that headspace. Of course she had to interact with male retail workers or cab drivers, and though wary she accepted that as part of her adult life, but she actually had conversations with the writer—personal conversations—and, even more shockingly, they didn't bother her. She might have even gone as far as to say that she looked forward to seeing him on the subway. If nothing else, she looked forward to observing his interactions with Abby as they really were endearing.

Then again perhaps it made sense as Richard Castle was not an ordinary stranger. True, she had not spoken him previously seeing as the hello and thank you she said to him at his book signing seven years earlier hardly counted, but she did know him on some level. She had read articles about him in newspapers and seen the occasional television interview and from those she'd gathered that while he certainly knew how to crack jokes, he was more arrogant than not. Also, given the varied number of blondes that hung on his arm in Page Six images, probably a bit of a playboy. All of those deductions just went to prove that the writer, just like his books, could not be judged by their outward appearances alone.

Arrogant was certainly not anywhere near the top of the list of descriptors she would use for Richard Castle. Ever since they'd meet he'd be kind, generous, and a seemingly down-to-earth human being. In addition, he seemed to be quite a fantastic father, which was certainly a surprise. In fact, just about the only thing from her initial impression of him that rang true was his clear sense of humor, which was arguably one of his best qualities.

"So, no Abby, huh?" he continued after several minutes silence between them. "You miss her when she's gone?"

She cringed. "Ah…am I a terrible mom for saying not always?"

He smiled. "No."

"I mean, I miss her when she spends a weekend at her dad's, but today? I have a lot of errands to run so I'm glad for the break."

"Fair enough. I know the feeling. Alexis is just now getting to the age where she can stay by herself if I just have to run to pick up take out or do something quick, but dragging her through a grocery store was never fun—especially not at this time of year with all the crowds. I was always worried she'd get lost."

"Oh yeah. Abby's pretty good about not wandering off…except on the subway recently because of someone," she added pointedly.

He grinned. "I cannot imagine who that would be."

Fighting to keep from rolling her eyes she said, "I'm sure."

After just another moment, the subway car began slowing rapidly—much quicker than it usually did—and came to the stop in the middle of a dark tunnel. While this was not entirely unheard of, especially at rush-hour, it did seem odd, and had Kate, along with many of the other passengers looking around with great curiosity.

"Delay on the line, you think?"

"Hopefully not." She responded. Typically, mid-tunnel stops only lasted a minute or two. If it went any longer then she would start to worry.

As she sat beside the writer in the stalled car, Kate could not help but think of how exceedingly odd it was the he was there, in the subway, at rush-hour. One day now and then would have been plausible, but the frequency at which they saw him implied that he might have been one of the other commuters, except that made no sense. Though she was not intimately familiar with the profession, she did not think that writers went to work in an office that was outside their home—at least, not those of his caliber. Thus, she could not help but be curious why he was there. Seeing an opportunity to find out, she took it.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why...why are you on this train so often? I mean: don't you work from home?"

He bobbed is head. "I do. Or at a coffee shop nearby. I'm on here for research."

Her eyes widened. That made some sense, but really just invited more questions. "Research? Is Derrek Storm going to be involved in a subway hijack?"

A grin immediately spread across his face. "No, but I'm thrilled to know that you're a fan." Kate dropped her chin and blushed, but the writer continued as though he didn't notice. "The subway at rush-hour is ultimate people watching. Plus I get to meet lovely people like you and your daughter and learn their stories."

At this, she bristled and crossed her right leg over the other, tightening her grip on the bag in her lap. "Our stories aren't up for grabs, Mr. Castle."

He shifted in his seat so he faced her more directly. "Please, I didn't mean to offend you or pry into something that's your personal business. Besides, I don't need the entire story just some of it. Like you, for instance. Single mom—you and Abby's father aren't together for a reason—whatever it is, doesn't matter. But for me? Oh well it could be anything. Abby's father was an astronaut tragically lost on a mission to Mars."

Her brow wrinkled. "And…how does that fit with Derrek Storm?"

"Oh it doesn't—just an example of how my mind works."

"I see." She commented while thinking that his mind must have been an interesting if not slightly strange place.

"Oh great; now it says delayed." Castle had not been looking at his watch when the train came to a stop mid-tunnel, thinking it wouldn't be more than a minute or two, but if he had to guess at least five or six had passed—possibly a little longer.

"Perfect." The detective beside him huffed.

"You have to pick up Abby?"

She shook her head. "No, my dad's keeping her overnight, but my errands…"

"Maybe it won't be long. Plus it gives us more of a chance to get to know each other." Castle never wanted to turn down an opportunity to get to know the lovely woman beside him better—particularly now that her daughter wasn't around. He liked Abby, he really did; she was adorable and precocious—two of his favorite qualities in little kids, but with her around he certainly needed to keep their topics of conversation G-rated and superficial at best. Perhaps, now that Kate was alone they could delve a bit deeper into getting to know one another.

"There's not much to tell, Mr. Castle. I'm a single mom with a job that takes up more time than it should; we're just trying to survive. That's nothing special."

He hummed. "I disagree completely; that sounds pretty extraordinary to me. Can I ask a question? How come you won't call me Rick?" He found it interesting that despite the fact that her daughter addressed him by his first name—and she allowed it—that she did not follow suit and always addressed him formally.

She shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Oh um… I dunno. I just knew you as Richard Castle for so long it's hard to be so…familiar."

He nodded. So her hesitation was coming from a fan perspective. He supposed he couldn't fault her for that, but also found himself quite amused. The fact that she had referenced his main character of the moment earlier in their conversation was endlessly delightful to him. He knew that she at least recognized him the first day they met, but that didn't mean she was a fan—that didn't mean she read his works at all. Now that he knew she had to have read at least some of them, he was curious just how familiar she was. "When did you start reading my books?"

"College."

"So a decade?"

"About."

"Interesting. Tell me more. What's your favorite?"

An embarrassed expression crossed her face and she shrugged. "Ah… I dunno. Flowers for Your Grave, I guess. I liked your original stuff."

At her interesting wording, he arched an eyebrow and asked, "You don't like Storm?"

"Oh no he's good."

Now even more curious because of her unconvincing tone, he continued with, "It's okay you can be honest." He appreciated honesty even if it was a bit brutal; he was used to taking that kind from his mother and he doubted the lovely woman beside him would be as blunt.

"The series just kind of feels…repetitive? Sorry."

He shook off her quick apology and couldn't fault her for her opinion as he felt the same. "No it's good; I like honesty. And you're right—I'm kind of bored with him—thinking this book I'm finishing up now might be his last for a while."

"Then what will you write?"

He raised his index finger. "Ah—that's why I'm here for the inspiration, but enough about me. Tell me about you."

She shook her head dismissively and gazed towards subway door. "Like I said, Mr. Castle; I'm not interesting."

"Will you at least drop the mister and call me Castle?"

She looked back to him with a soft smile. "Okay, Castle."

He grinned. "Much better. How about…why'd you become a cop?"

"Ah…seemed like the right thing to do."

Castle felt the hair at the back of his neck prickle at her clipped comment. He had been hoping for an interesting story with regards to why this beautiful, clearly intelligent woman beside him had chosen a career in law enforcement rather than one more suited to the upper-middle-class aura he got from her. He imagined the story was quite interesting, but from her tone it was clear she wasn't going to give it up easily and the last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable, so he altered the course of their conversation.

"Well I think it's great. You're a hero to everyone—especially your daughter."

"Oh I don't know about that."

"You absolutely are. She's wonderful, Kate and that's all because of you."

She smiled a gentle smile that sent his heart fluttering. "Thanks, that's very—oh!" She half-gasped when the train lurched into motion once more.

"Sweet. At least we weren't stuck that long," he commented. Even if they had been stopped for around ten minutes, that certainly was not that dramatic of a delay—at least not as bad as it could have been.

"I can get my errands done after all."

Preparing to get off at the next stop, Castle slid towards the edge of his seat and turned back to face the detective. "Well, good luck with them. And I'm glad we ran into each other again."

She nodded. "Me too."

"Offer still stands for dinner, you know."

"Right…I'll uh, check my schedule and see you sometime."

He dipped his fingers into his jacket pocket and passed over the business card on which he'd written his personal cell phone number in hopes of bumping into the duo once more. "Calling also works."

She dipped her eyes as she accepted the card. "Ah, thanks."

With that, he gave her a nod, and stood as the car slowed to its next stop—this time at an actual platform. "Have a good evening Kate."

"Bye Castle."

Her smile was the last thing he saw before being swept up in a busy sea of commuters leaving the train.

A/N: I am continually humbled by your reviews - I'm so glad that everyone is enjoying this story!