*comes out of hideyhole* Oh. Hi. So, I did it again. That thing where I get block and run away from stories for a long time. And I make no promises that it won't happen again. But, uh, for some reason the story blew up a little (and if you could PM me or leave a review about where you found the story, that would be great!), so I thought I would try this out for size. Kinda short, but hopefully will be forgiven. Enjoy :)

"I go to the Academy."
Rick laughed for a moment before realizing that Kate wasn't laughing with him.
"Kate, did you get into a car accident that I missed? You go to NYU, remember?" Rick paused. "Right?"
"Rick, I wouldn't lie to you, you know that."
He stood up suddenly, bumping into several people along the way. "It sounds like you've been lying for at least three months, Kate."
He started walking away from her, and she stood up, rushing after him.
"Rick, come on! We both know that I wasn't cut out for NYU anyway!"
He pulled her aside into a and held her shoulders lightly. "Kate, you went to Stanford! Why would you do this? Your parents want you at Stanford, or at least NYU, not at the Academy."
Kate chuckled bitterly, speaking in hushed tones. "Yeah? How would I know that? My mom's dead, Rick, and I didn't get to say a proper goodbye to her. And my dad? I don't even know who he is five days out of the week. So you don't get to use my parents as leverage against me."
"Fine, I want you at Stanford. I don't want you in a dangerous position like the Academy! That's so dangerous and I just...Kate, please," Rick breathed shakily, Kate just noticing now that tears were forming in the corner of his eyes. "Christ, Kate, I just don't want to lose you."
Kate sighed, nodding and taking Rick's hand. "I know, babe. But I've made my choice, and I'll be careful. Shit, I'll be the best, I promise. You don't have to worry about me. Cross my heart, hope to die."
Rick laughed through his tears. "Don't say that!"
Kate smirked, pulling Rick out of the shop and walking back on the street. "Come on, let's go to Washington Square Park, okay? Get some cheesecake at Magnolia's and we'll have a little date there. How does that sound?"
Rick scoffed. "You make me sound like the girl in the relationship."
(Kate proceeded to punch him in the arm after hearing that statement, and Rick quickly retracted it. "Okay, okay, you win. Scary Kate.")

After picking up their desserts and taking a few subway stops to the Park, Rick and Kate settled on one of the benches facing the river and they sat in silence for a little as they ate.
"Oh, okay. So I have big news," Rick started with a humongous grin on his face.
"What?"
He reached into his pocket for his phone and pulled up a picture of a book cover.
"A Calm Before the Storm by Richard Castle. What is this?"
"You remember that story I was writing. With that guy named Derrick Storm?"
Kate's eyes widened. "You're getting published?"
Rick nodded excitedly, and was attacked into a hug by his girlfriend.
"Rick, that's amazing! How? When?"
"Well, Mother kept pushing it to people without my knowledge, and sooner or later I got a call and there it was."
"I'm getting an advanced copy, right?"
Rick chuckled, wrapping an arm around her. "Of course. And there was one other thing. Oh, but what was it?"
"Yo! Rodgers!"
Kate turned her head to the familiar voice and stood up when he saw the face that belonged to it.
"I didn't know your mom was Martha Rodgers! Why didn't you tell me we were staying with my favorite actress?" a female voice squealed.
"You mom's an actress?"
Kate paused in front of her three best friends, her mouth open wide.
"Katie!" two of the bodies shouted, running to hug her tightly. "L-Lanie? Kev?"
The last one, the first person to speak, approached her after they pulled away. "Becks. Have I told you how much I miss you?"
Kate wrapped her arms tightly around him as she whimpered. "Javi. I missed you too."
She didn't want to pull away, but her best friend seemed to need to breathe. "What are you guys doing here?"
Lanie and Kevin smiled, Esposito still standing in front of them, closest to Kate.
"Whoa, guys. Way to totally overshadow my news," Rick grumbled from behind Kate.
She turned around and started pounding lightly on his chest excitedly. "You knew about this?"
"We're staying with him, dummy. Would have been rude not to let him know," Javi answered in Rick's place. "We couldn't wait to see you, so we flew out for the break. Two weeks of the old crew back together in New York! This is my first time so you're gonna have to show me the sights and all that, you know."
"Is this real life? I wish you could have met my roommates!"
"Are they hot?" Javi asked quickly, earning a kick from Lanie. "Sorry, I jumped the gun on that one."
"They're two really hot guys, if that's what you mean," Rick interjected. "Like, super buff. It's sort of ridiculous."
Kate smiled, disbelieving of her best friends standing in front of her. "This isn't a dream? Are you sure?"
They laughed with her and they sat on the grass at Washington Square Park, Rick's arm around her. And she couldn't believe how lucky she was today. She pulled out her phone when she could get away with it to send a stray text.

To: Dean
Dean, taking a day off. My friends from Stanford are here, and so is Rick. Can you take him for a night?

A moment later, she was granted a reply.

From: Dean
Of course. You deserve it.

Kate relaxed in Rick's arms and pressed a kiss to his cheek before listening to Kevin's story about the new classes starting next semester. And for the first time in a long time, Kate felt at hope in NYC.

Hope I'm forgiven (at least a little bit?)! Sorry if the formatting is off-I'm writing this on my phone from my car on the way home from Florida. I'll fix it when I'm home with my laptop and wifi. But thank you for reading, and remember to leave a Review or shoot me a PM telling me where you found out about this fic. And to try to get me to update, maybe. Also, on the off-chance you were wondering about it, my Tumblr is martinfreemanwearsjumpers.