Disclaimer: I do not own Castle
AN: here's you next 5 chapters! ENJOY!
Chapter 21
Kate got late the next morning. She'd taken too long to figure out what to wear after He had left. And so she skipped breakfast and decided on stopping at the coffee shop to get hers to go. As she waited for the barista to hand her her grand skim latte with 2 pumps sugar free vanilla, the next customer gave her order.
Kate wouldn't have really noticed her, but there was something about the woman that got her attention. She was stylish, red haired, and she had quite a flair about her, even in the way she spoke.
Just then her coffee was ready
"Katherine Beckett?" the barista called and handed over her travel mug to her
"Thank you" she said and turned to leave
"Just a second darling" the woman said to her "I have to ask, Are you Katherine Beckett, the professor at the university?"
"That's me" Kate smiled, but she was utterly confused. "I'm sorry, I don't recall if we've met before"
"We haven't" the woman said "but I've heard quite a lot about you"
"Oh, from whom?"
"Where are my manners? I'm sorry, my name is Martha Rogers, My son Richard, he's in one of your classes"
And it hit Kate like a wrecking ball. She was talking to Rick's mom.
"Mrs Rogers, what a pleasure to meet you" she smiled, offering her hand ahead. Martha shook her hand and said
"The pleasure is all mine, ever since your first day, Rick has been entranced by your teaching. He comes home and we only talk about your subject over dinner"
"You're kidding?"
"I wish, he told me you were a beautiful lady, forgive me but I hardly thought you were this beautiful"
Kate felt a blush creep up her cheeks
"You're flattering me"
"Are you in a hurry to be somewhere? Or can we sit and talk a while, I feel like we'll have a lot to talk about. I'm into theatre and you're into literature, and you seem to impress my son quite a bit when it comes to the subject"
Kate looked at the time, she was really late.
"I'm actually late, but maybe we can meet some other time"
"How about you come home for dinner darling?"
Kate didn't know what to say. Martha was being such a sweetheart
"I'll take your number from Rick, and give you a call"
"That would be great."
"It was great meeting you Katherine"
"It was great meeting you too"
Kate waved goodbye as she got out of the coffee shop and brought out her phone, it had been buzzing constantly. It was the principal. There was a text from her too
"We're having a mock fire drill in college for the students in the first lecture. So we've shifted your lecture to later in the day"
Kate sighed in relief. She turned back around and saw Martha Rogers seating herself alone at one of the tables and she thought to herself. 'What the heck'. Kate Beckett went back in, and pulled up a chair to join Martha Rogers.
"So I guess I've got some time on my hands anyway, my lecture got postponed"
"That's brilliant darling."
"So, do you come here every morning?" Kate asked, as a casual conversation starter
"Not really, just on days when I have to do the walk of shame" Martha winked. And Kate chuckled. Rick was right, his mother loved spending the nights out painting the town.
"I like that. You seem like a fun person Mrs. Rogers. I see where Rick's personality comes from"
"Oh no, that's definitely his father. Rick's dad was a complete charmer. Every girl wanted to be with him."
"But he wanted to be with you"
"For a night or 2 yes. That's how I had Rick"
"I'm sorry" Kate offered as she reached out to place a hand over Martha's
"Oh don't be, I never regret having Rick. So what if his father went MIA on me, not a day goes by that I don't thank my stars for giving me Rick"
"He's a nice man"
"Why thank you professor"
"Please, you can call me Kate"
"And you can call me Martha."
Kate smiled
"So, how's rick doing at college?"
"He's great, does most of his assignments in time, he creates a ruckus in class sometimes, but it's nothing I can't handle"
"That's good to hear, he's always been the naughty type, always doing things others never dared to do"
Kate bit her lip. 'Yea like sleeping with his professor' she thought to herself. Just then her phone buzzed, and from the notification bar, she saw it was a text from the man in question
His text read-
"Why do we need a fire drill in college, when the hottest person I know hasn't even reached college yet?"
"He's often got himself in trouble too because of that attitude, but I think he's mellowed it down" Martha said
"I don't think so, he's still a daring person in my view"
"As long as he isn't getting himself into trouble, I don't have a problem. He spends most of his nights out with his friends these days, so dinner is our time together. I'm not sure, but I suspect he'd been seeing someone."
Kate almost spat out her coffee.
"I'm sorry, that's none of your concern. I just wonder you know… mothers intuition, I can tell when my boy's in love. And he's been acting that way lately"
"Oh. Maybe it's someone from college" Kate offered