AN: So, I'm in Belfast, which is why there has been sever lack of updating. However, I have a few minutes of free time, so I decided to put this up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

Prompt: meeting AU set after montgomery's funeral. kate did not get shot and decides to go to the old haunt where some drunken idiot tries to insult her and get his hands on her when castle goes inbetween as the owner of the old hunt and throws the drunken out of his bar. and he invites her into his office to apologize and make it up to her. (bonus if its love in first sight and rated m)

She had been staring at her drink for fifteen minutes, that much he knew.

As the owner of the Old Haunt, Richard Castle prided himself on keeping an eye on his patrons whenever he was bartending. He liked to interact with his customers, know their lives, their stories. And the brunette beauty at the end of the bar definitely had one.

She was obviously contemplating something, but the loud, vibrant atmosphere of the bar was distracting her. Her hand would twitch at any loud laugh or shout emanating from one of the customers. It wasn't like he had been staring at her the whole time she was there. Really, he hadn't been.

As the customers began to die down, and the bar was beginning to close for the night, he saw she was still there. Her head was bowed, her eyes focused intently on the wood in front of her. However, Rick could've sworn he saw a few tears be shed.

He then saw a man, not much older, or taller, than her, and clearly intoxicated, approach her. The man rested his chin on her shoulder, murmuring something in her ear. She grimaced, shaking him off and dismissing him. The man looked annoyed, and tried again. The woman turned around, glaring at him. Then the man tried to put his hands on her and she clenched her teeth, her hand gripping his arm and it looked like she was going to flip him.

Deciding to end the situation as quickly as possible, Rick nodded his head to a burly man in a nearby booth. He was a heavy Rick had employed the bar in case a customer decided to get a little too rowdy. He tossed his head in the direction of the intoxicated man and the beautiful lady. Chester, the burly man, winked before walking over.

At this point, the woman had the man on the floor and a few of the patrons had turned to watch the show. Chester, however, gripped the man by both of his shoulders before dragging him out of the bar, the intoxicated guy muttering curses as they went.

Rick immediately walked over to her, giving an apologetic smile.

"I'm terribly sorry about that," he said. "No woman deserves to be treated like an object. Although, it looks like you were able to handle him." He raised an eyebrow. She gave a bitter laugh in return.

"I better be able to, given that I'm a trained cop," she responded, looking at her half full glass. "Thanks though." She gave him meager smile.

He hesitated for a minute before saying, "Listen, it looks like you've had a rough day."

She snorted. "And the guy bugging you was probably the cheery on top, so why don't I make it up to you?"

"You're closing,' she stated. She looked at him curiously, obviously trying to read him.

"Yes, but I am the owner and I can do what I want." He winked, hoping to ease her worries. She didn't appear moved.

"Okay…" she trailed off.

"So, follow me. But first, what is your name?" he asked.

"Kate Beckett," she replied.

"And what is your favorite color?" A sweet laugh emanated from her at that one.

"Purple, " she answered, playing along, a little brighter this time.

"Okay, now that you have successfully passed the test, come with me."

She raised an eyebrow, looking at him warily, but complied.

He led her to the back of the bar, which was completely silent, with the exception of the sound of their footsteps on the wood flooring.

"Welcome to my secret lair." A somewhat maniacal laugh came form his lips and she just rolled her eyes. He pouted, allowing her down the set of steps before him and he followed.

She looked around, her eyes going wide before commenting, "Nice office."

He shrugged. "I go here to hide from the customers and sometimes my family." Going to the flask of scotch on his desk, he poured himself a glass and he offered her one.

"No thanks. I shouldn't be drinking honestly. I just came here to get away." He watched as her eyes roamed the space, taking in the pictures that were scattered and hung around the walls.

"That's my daughter," he explained, taking down a picture of him and Alexis when she was ten. They were at the beach, their expressions happy and carefree. "She's older now, and much more mature than me." Kate's hazel eyes examined the picture closely, her lips turning up.

He gestured for her to have a seat and she complied, sitting in one of the red clothed arm chairs near the white sofa.

"So," he started, observing her. She was more relaxed, but there a sadness to her, one he wanted to take away. "What are you running from?"

She blanched at his question, looking at her hands.

"Don't want to talk about it?" he guessed, his tone gentle.

She shook her head. "Yes. No. I don't know. I probably should, since I'll have to talk about it at some point." Her head raised up, eyes shining with tears.

A quiet settled over them as he waited for her to speak.

"I buried my captain today," she finally blurted out, a crack in her voice.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before remembering she was a cop.

"He was my mentor, sort of a father figure to me. I've known him since I was a rookie still in uniform. He was my captain when I became detective." She bit her lip. "And now he's gone. He was killed. Shot in an alley and left for dead. He left a wife and two beautiful girls behind." She shook her head, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.

His heart clenched at her story and his next question left his mouth with desire to know more of the it."Did they catch who did it?"

Her head shook in dismay.

"No. And I think it was my fault that he was killed."

He frowned. "How?"

"I was digging into an old case," she murmured. "Someone else who was close to me was killed long ago. Anyway, I was looking into it and found something that connected him to it." She ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to calm herself. "Someone must've been watching because before I could ask him about it, he was killed." She shook her head again before bowing it. "Now I'm never going to see him again." She sniffled and Rick hesitated, unsure if he should hug her or not.

"I know it doesn't do much, but I'm really sorry, Kate." His tone was sincere and he hoped his eyes reflected the same thing as she raised her head up again.

"Thank you." She sighed. "I'm sorry for bothering you with this. I just, I guess needed someone to talk to." He could see she was trying to close herself off, as her expression slowly became stoic and she started to stand. "Thank you, again. But I should go." She smiled but he saw through it. Catching her wrist, he shook his head.

"I think you should stay a little longer. You're not really in any condition to go home." Her eyes flared dangerously, so he backpedaled. "No offense, I'm just a little concerned, okay? I can't let my customers go home without knowing they're safe." He gave her a boyish grin and she huffed, sitting down again.

"Can you just promise me something?"

"Sure. What?" He would promise her anything just to see her smile. What was wrong with him?

"Don't put my story in your books." His mouth opened slightly and she shrugged. "Yeah, I know who you are. Do you think I would've willingly come down here if I didn't know who were? If I didn't, I would've asked earlier. I may be grieving, but my cop instincts are still intact."

"As shown earlier," he responded. Normally, he would be annoyed at a woman allowing him to lure them into his basement, knowing his status. However, she clearly wasn't after anything.

"So, you promise?"

He nodded, holding up his pinky finger. "I pinky promise."

She chuckled, reaching out and connecting her pinky finger with his. A shock occurred at their connection and her eyes sparked, clearly showing that she felt it too. She ducked her head, her cheeks turning a beautiful shade of pink.

"I think I'm okay now," she announced. "Thank you so much, Mr. Castle. I really do need to leave, since I'm on call."

He sighed, nodding in acceptance and standing to show her out.

"May I have your number then?" He hoped he didn't sound like he was begging, but he would if he had to. "Just so you have someone to talk to?"

"That would be nice, actually." Her eyes focused intently on his face an she gave him a shy smile. "It would be good to talk to someone who doesn't expect me to bottle it up."

He beamed. Then, they exchanged numbers and he escorted her to the door.

"Goodnight, Kate," he murmured.

"Goodnight, Mr. Castle."

"Rick," he corrected.

"Goodnight then, Rick."

He thought for a moment, before placing his lips gently on her cheek, giving her a quick peck. She blinked, surprised, before letting a grin cross her face.

"I'll text you," she said, before opening the door and heading out into warm, spring air.

Then, she was gone.