I dusted this off in effort to inspire Toujours but decided to post this instead. It started off as a "write a paragraph on a word" exercise and devolved into this. I currently have 13 chapters that I will post every week until I can start writing it again.

The title's probably gonna change as it's been titled "Smash Fic" on my computer for two years ;)

Hope y'all enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE:

At this point, Richard Castle had no choice left to believe that love was a social construct made up by greeting card companies solely for monetary gain. You could go so far as to call it fraud. It didn't truly exist and anyone who believed in love at first sight was bordering an insanity defense. His job only seemed to reinforce that point. The other maxim various DA's offices taught the seasoned prosecutor was that history has more power than most give it credit.

Castle was dreading tomorrow, he had a new ADA starting under his command and he didn't have the energy, patience or time to break in a young, doe-eyed, inexperienced lawyer. He'd glossed over the file Montgomery had handed him on his way out. Her name was Kate and she was a Stanford grad and had worked in another jurisdiction somewhere. But beyond that, he was going to be completely surprised tomorrow. And he wasn't sure if the strategy would play out in his favor or backfire. He hoped for favor but was so tired once he reached his apartment, he barely changed and slipped into bed.

Although exhausted, the office politics wouldn't stop circling his thoughts. His department had lost three much-needed ADAs to transfers, promotions and one had flat-out quit. But, in his delirium, decided that he'd let a little optimism in and forced himself to welcome all the opportunities that lay ahead.

On the subway the next morning, he mentally went through all his open cases. And for a fleeting moment, he thought back to his viewpoints on history and decided that it owned him a few favors.

Little did he know, his greatest favor would literally be staring him in the face. The bright-eyed, beautiful prosecutor currently standing outside his door, waiting for him to arrive for the day.

He settled in for the morning and mixed in with his files with the one Montgomery had given him. He regretted not looking at it more in-depth as most of the time, a small photo was attached. Then, he could be a little less taken by her in the moment. She stood professionally, waiting for him to get his act together and carry on an actual conversation. She made new job small talk and Castle saw her fidget with her necklace. A green stone set in silver partnered with a plain gold band on a chain. Simple and elegant. He took a sip of coffee while admiring her fair complexion, high cheekbones, and mysterious hazel eyes. But he also told himself to stop admiring the new hire or he'd find himself technically on the wrong end of the law.

"There's an arraignment at noon and I was thinking you could sit second chair, learn the ropes a bit. And I'm blanking on where but you've worked in other jurisdictions before, right?"

"I would love to sit second chair. And yes, sir. I originally worked with LAPD under Detective Mike Royce." She states,

"Alright, let's get cracking. As of recent, we've been left severely understaffed and so you'll probably get a decent case load to start off. Here's the Garrison file, let me know if you have any questions. You should have your log-in by now, see Mrs. Kincaid if you haven't. I'll come grab you around 11:30 and show you where the courtrooms are."

"Thank you, sir." Kate accepts the file and starts to leave,

"And Kate?" She stops at the doorway, "Please don't call me sir. Castle is just fine." He chuckled,

"Ok, Castle." She smiles, her heels clicking across the open space.

While he didn't believe in love, he definitely believed in attraction; and right now, he was very attracted to that smile and very much wanted to see it again. There was something about this one.