"Mom, what's for dinner?"

"I don't know, Jo," Kate replied exasperatedly, as she began to remove the groceries from the cart and put them on the conveyor.

Johanna stood alongside, checking the items on the list with what was being stacked, gasping momentarily.

"Mom, we didn't get any bread!"

Groaning, Kate looked from the empty trolley to the cashier, who had already begun to scan her things.

"Do you want me to go get it?" Johanna asked, already handing over the pen and shopping list to Kate, who flashed a grateful smile.

"Yes, thank you sweetie!"

Running off, Kate ran her hands through her hair, sighing as she did, massaging her temples to alleviate some of the tension in her forehead. This week had been an incredibly long and difficult one. Although she'd been given the Sunday off, one day didn't make up for six twelve hour days. The case they'd just closed had taken everything out of Kate and her Homicide team at the 12th, leaving them with the day off.

Before she could begin to contemplate the lazy evening she was planning, she was distracted by a voice calling her from the adjacent register.

"Kate?"

Looking up, she gasped, eyes wide, as she took in the image of the man who had spoken her name. He was tall, around 6'3", dark auburn to brown hair atop his head that accentuated his perfectly blue eyes. He was dressed in jeans and a plain blue shirt, his biceps bulging out of the short sleeves as he gazed at her in as much disbelief as she was giving out.

"Kate Beckett?"

The repetition of her name snapped her out of her daydream, her reply stuttered and confused. Dammit Kate!

"Uh, yeah, that's, uh…that's me…" she murmured.

Holding out his hand, she took it, feeling his obvious and immense strength in the forceful shake that followed.

"Brad, Brad Tompkins," he began, the name sparking something in the very back of her mind, "we were friends about…wow, must be almost ten years ago now."

Her head absent-mindedly tilted in confusion, as she attempted to piece together the facts, that's what she was good at. Almost ten years ago meant just after her mother was murdered. The chances of her remembering any exact details from that time were extremely low. At the same time, there was something about this Brad Tompkins that was just so familiar to Kate. Her eyes were continually drawn to his, their bright, vibrant, intense blue. Oh, there were many words to describe the lusciousness of his eyes, his physique, that goofy, diagonal grin.

"You don't remember me, do you?" he added with a smile, a glint in his eye that was just…so.

Unable to speak, her mouth still gaping, she shook her head.

"We met in college," he continued, "we were - what was it? Oh yeah, 'party buddies'."

Kate's eyes widened noticeably, causing Brad to chuckle to himself quietly. Kate immediately remembered exactly who he was, and quite frankly, she wasn't sure whether she was nervous or happy about this little reunion. Fortunately, as the tension in the situation was rising steadily as the moments went on, she figured she could let herself enjoy meeting her 'party buddy' again after so many years. Truthfully, they had been good friends.

"Of course, Brad, it's so good to see you!" Kate gushed, her face breaking into a smile as she reached forward, both embracing one another momentarily before stepping back.

"And you too, Kate," Brad added, grinning lopsidedly, "you're looking good."

Blushing with a grin, Kate let her eyes fall to her still moving groceries and back to Brad, "Yeah, you too."

"So, what have you been doing with yourself lately?" Brad asked, leaning easily against the conveyer, arms crossed as he grinned. God, Kate could not take her eyes of those biceps, or that grin. Or the man at all, really, if she were being honest.

"Well, I went into law enforcement after we, uh…"

"Parted ways?" Brad offered, as a nervous Kate laughed uneasily, and nodded, continuing.

"So, yeah, uh, I'm currently working at the 12th precinct of the NYPD as a homicide detective," she finished with a nod, as Brad gave a hearty nod of approval.

"Well, I'm shocked we haven't crossed paths since college, Kate," he began, "I hit up the fire department after I flunked out of my medical degree, and been there ever since."

Well, that explains the biceps…

"Oh, wow, that's, uh, wow…good for you," Kate replied, as a small voice and pattering feet broke between the awkward silence that had erupted.

"Mom, I got the bread for you," Johanna said, running to the front of the conveyer belt and placing it beside the rice. The young girl turned back to her mother, and her eyes finally fell on her company.

"Oh, hello there," Johanna greeted brightly, a smile on her face as she moved up beside her mother, "I'm Johanna."

Brad was at a loss for words, either at the exuberance of Johanna or at the sheer existence of her.

"Oh yeah," Kate added with a chuckle, "did I mention I have a daughter?"

"That's me!" Johanna cried, popping her hand in the air as she grinned.

"Well, uh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Johanna," Brad replied, returning the young Beckett's bright grin.

"Excuse me, miss," came the voice of the cashier, who was flagging Kate to pay for her groceries. As she stepped up to do so, Brad followed, his milk, bread and vegetables taking only a small space on the conveyer belt.

"Listen, Kate," he began, his hand falling gently on her arm, an act that left the butterflies in a frenzy in her stomach, "If you're not doing anything, would you like to grab a coffee?"

"Oh, Brad, that's really nice of you, uh –"

"She'd love to!" Johanna exclaimed, "Since it's her day off and all, she doesn't have much else to do."

"Fantastic!" Brad exclaimed, pulling his phone out and looking away momentarily, giving Kate time to glare at her daughter, who was looking immensely proud of herself.

"Well, listen, since we've both got our groceries, maybe we can make it around lunch time?" Brad suggested, "I mean, if that's alright with you."

Kate grinned, suddenly giddy at the prospect of her lunch – well, it wasn't really a date, was it? It was coffee.

"Sure, that sounds great," Kate agreed, pulling her phone out of her pocket as well, Johanna standing beside her, looking extremely pleased.

In a quick moment, the two adults swapped numbers and agreed on a 1 o'clock meet at a coffee shop just around the corner.

"Well, Kate Beckett, I'll see you then," Brad added as they stepped onto the street, "And Little Beckett, it was a pleasure to meet you."

"Bye Brad!" Johanna cried, waving excitedly, before Kate gave her arm a tug back toward the car.

"Johanna Abigail Beckett, you are so grounded!"

X

"I'm not changing, Lanie, it's just a coffee date!"

"With a hot fireman!"

"So?"

"Katherine Beckett!" Lanie began, raising her finger accusatorily, "There is never a reason to say 'So?' to a hot fireman!"

"Lanie –"

"A fireman whom you admit to having a little somethin' somethin' with in college!"

"Lanie!"

"What?"

"Johanna is in the next room!" Kate whispered, as Lanie shook her head.

Kate hadn't intended on getting a lecture from Lanie the minute she told her she was going for coffee with an old college friend, she just needed someone to watch Johanna for a couple of hours.

"But seriously, Kate," Lanie began, "I've never seen you this turned around over a guy since Castle started working at the 12th."

"It's not just any guy though," Kate murmured, her eyes falling, her face with them, as Lanie's expression too became solemn.

"Kate, come on, are you sure it's him?" Lanie asked, watching her best friend sit uneasily on her bed, sighing.

Shaking her head, Kate didn't speak straight away. When she thought about it, Brad was as much a contender as anybody else she'd been, well, 'seeing' at the time. He was just so familiar to her…

"It was a long time ago, and it was a, uh, difficult time…" Kate murmured, shaking the memories of the time after her mother's death from her head. Granted, she hadn't exactly taken it well, but many hadn't expected her to go the way she did. Looking back on it now, neither did she.

"How much did he mean to you?" Lanie asked, "Back then?"

For the first time since they began discussing Brad, Kate's eyes lifted to meet Lanie's. It was a valid question; how much did he mean to her? Did he still mean something to her? Could he still mean something to her?

"He was the one of the only things that kept me going," Kate said in a whisper, "the only thing that would make me keep going every morning. Granted, a lot of the time he was the reason I woke up with a headache the next day."

"Kate Beckett, the party animal?" Lanie scoffed, "I don't believe it!"

Laughing along with Lanie, Kate shook her head to herself as she let other things run through her mind.

"But it doesn't really matter how much he meant," Kate said, her hands fiddling with the tassels of her coat.

Lanie let an eyebrow raise as she looked Kate up and down, a hint of enquiry in her gaze.

"Lanie, think about it," Kate began, "he's got the same hair, the same eyes, the same personality –"

"As who?" Lanie interrupted, now looking immensely confused by where Kate was headed with this conversation. However, the brunette woman opposite her did not look confused, in fact, she looked quite serious.

"As Johanna."

X

So, I found this amongst my plot-bunnies-that-I'm-not-up-to-in-the-story-yet section, and figured here would be a good place to put it in. And, yes, two chapters in one night, yay me!

Hopefully there should be more chapters in my other stories as well as this tomorrow; I'm sick and plan on spending a majority of my day in bed.

Kayla x