Kate groggily opened her eyes and checked her watch. It was 6:02 AM. She'd been awoken by a loud conversation between two women not too far from her cot. She sighed. Didn't they know that everyone else in the room was trying to sleep? She closed her eyes again, not wanting to get out of bed just yet, but her eyes jolted open when she heard her name. They were talking about her.

"You said he gave Kate a rose?" the first voice asked.

"Yes!" a second voice replied. "And I'm telling you, he looks like he could be thirty. Kate's only nineteen. That just ain't right. "

Kate immediately recognized the second voice as Connie's. The middle-aged woman was kind and often matronly, but liked to make sure she knew the business of all of the shelter regulars. She loved to gossip, and once you'd told her something, Connie made sure everyone at the shelter knew about it. Kate made a mental note not to tell Connie any more details than she had to about her encounter with Rick. She was afraid of what the reactions of the other homeless might be if they found out she'd been offered a job.

Kate glanced down at her backpack on the floor. The rose was sitting on top of it, the deep red petals contrasting against the bag's dark blue hue. She smiled, recalling the events of the previous night. She couldn't believe her luck. Richard Castle, for whatever reason, had chosen her. Even though she ran, he searched for her and came back for her. And he'd brought her a rose.

Kate picked it up, stroking its velvet petals again. The rose was beautiful, but a homeless girl like herself had no use for it. She knew someone who needed it, though.

The sky was clear and blue this morning, and the sun was illuminating the lush green grass. A slight breeze was blowing, causing the leaves on the trees to rustle. How strange that a place so full of sorrow could be so beautiful, Kate thought as she picked her way carefully through the tombstones. She hadn't been back to the cemetery since her mom's funeral, but the images from that day were burned permanently into her brain. She remembered exactly where Johanna Beckett's grave was.

After a few more turns, Kate found herself standing at the foot of her mother's final resting place. There were no flowers beside her mother's tombstone, and Kate felt a stab of guilt. Clearly, her dad hadn't come to visit, and neither had Kate. All of the other graves nearby had a flower arrangement of some sort, but Johanna's was bare.

The mound of earth covering her casket was still fresh, but a few blades of grass had begun to grow from it. How ironic, Kate thought. Life growing over death. She sat down on the grass by the end of the grave, reaching out to place her palm on the damp pile of earth. "Hi, mom," she whispered. A couple of tears escaped from her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away, smearing dirt on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry I haven't come to visit," Kate started, her voice shaking. "It's just…" she paused, taking a deep breath. "I couldn't. It hurt too much." She began to speak quicker, voice growing gradually louder. "And I know that's stupid, because it's not your fault, and it's just me being silly, but I just miss you so much mom, and I wish you were still here, and everything has changed and it's so different and my life's just a mess, and I…" Kate paused, drawing a deep breath. "How am I supposed to do this without you, mom?" The tears began to flow, and Kate let herself cry for several minutes.

Finally, Kate sat up, wiped her eyes, and sniffled. "Thanks for listening," she said with a half-smile. She took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry your grave is so bare. I wish I could give you all the flowers in the world, because you deserve them. But I can't afford it. I can't even afford to buy you one flower," Kate said sorrowfully, wiping away another tear.

"But this rose," Kate continued, picking up the flower Castle had given her, "was given to me last night. It's just a simple flower, but it means so much to me," Kate said, tears beginning to fall again. "It represents forgiveness, trust… and hope. That makes it worth just as much as all of the roses in the entire world." She sniffed.

"I'm leaving it here with you, mom. I know how much you liked roses, and how you always talked about wanting to have your own rose garden in our apartment… it's not a rose garden, I know. But I hope you'll forgive me, mom. I love you so much. And maybe there's hope that things will start looking up for me. For both of us."

She kissed the petals of the rose, then laid it gently at the base of her mother's tombstone. Flowers for your Grave, Kate thought bitterly. How appropriate.

Kate reached under her shirt collar and pulled out the chain she always wore around her neck. Her mother's wedding ring dangled from it, and she began toying with it. She wished there had been something she could have done to stop her mother from dying. She'd spent months analyzing all of the "if onlys," and all it had done was make her feel worse. But Castle was right: there was nothing Kate could have done to change what happened. Even though she couldn't fix the past, she realized with a start that there was something she could do to bring closure, for herself and for her mom.

Kate placed her hand on the mound of dirt. "I will find who did this to you, mom," she vowed, her voice strong. "I will bring your killer to justice. I promise. I won't let you down again." She'd make it her mission. Whatever it took to solve her mother's case, she'd do it.

Kate walked out of the cemetery, head high and eyes bright. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and she had a mission. Her mom had taught her that even in the worst times, there was a possibility for joy. Kate embraced the statement. Things were finally starting to look up.

Her visit to the cemetery had left Kate's body and clothing dirt-streaked, and she badly needed to clean up. The shelter had showers, but it was already 8:30 AM, which meant the shelter was closed for the next several hours. She knew of a nearby gym, though, and walked there, hoping for a shower.

The gym's receptionist was initially wary of the presence of a homeless woman, but when Kate explained that she had a job that evening and needed to look her best, the receptionist's face softened. "Of course, dear," the woman said sweetly. "I understand. Anything to help you get back on your feet again." The receptionist provided shampoo, soap, and a towel, and Kate thanked her graciously as she made her way to the showers.

She exited the gym twenty minutes later, feeling clean and refreshed. After her shower, she'd put on her extra T-shirt, undies, and socks that she kept in her backpack. Even though she was still wearing the same jeans, she felt cleaner than she had in a long time. Her hair was drying into loose, frizzy curls, just like her mom's always had. What I wouldn't do for a hair dryer, Kate thought. She usually didn't care too much about her appearance, but she wanted to look her best today.

"Hey, watch it!" a man shouted. Kate looked up with a start. She'd nearly walked right into someone.

"Sorry," she muttered. She looked around, suddenly realizing she'd been wondering through the busy streets of Manhattan for quite some time without paying attention. She had no idea where she was. Great, Kate thought. She'd grown up in Manhattan, but there were several parts of the city she still didn't know. She'd wonder around some more, trying to find a place she recognized, and get herself back on track. It was only 9:30—she still had plenty of time before she had to be at the Castle's apartment.

Kate spotted a bench and made her way to it, sitting down on the hard metal. She pulled her backpack into her lap and unzipped the front pocket, digging around until her fingers found what they sought—Castle's business card. He told her that he lived in SoHo, which was about six and a half miles away. The business card listed his address as 425 Broome Street. That area was unfamiliar to Kate, so she'd have to ask for directions to Broome Street once she got to SoHo. She'd better start walking over there now—who knows how long it would take. Rick had offered to take care of cab fees, but she had nothing better to do today. She might as well just walk.

But first, she had to figure out where she was. Kate sighed, replacing the business card in her backpack's front pocket. As she did, her fingers touched something cold and metallic. The quarters. She'd nearly forgotten about them. Rick's intention was for her to use them to call him on a payphone, but since she had accepted the job in person, phoning him wasn't necessary anymore. Maybe she could still use them, though.

She spotted a pay phone near an intersection across the street and hurried to it. She inserted one of the quarters and dialed the one number she knew by heart. The phone began to ring. Please answer, she thought. However, after five rings, the answering machine picked up. Kate's heart sank, knowing what she was about to hear.

"You've reached the Becketts," came a pleasant voice. Her mother's voice. Tears sprang to Kate's eyes. "We can't come to the phone right now, so please leave a message, and we'll call you back soon!"

The machine beeped, and Kate drew a shaky breath. "Hey mom—I, I mean dad," Kate faltered. "I just wanted to call you and see how you were doing. I guess you're not home," she said. Or maybe he is home, but he's drunk and passed out, she thought bitterly. "I'll call you back some time. I love you." She slowly replaced the phone, wiping the tears from her eyes.

The sound of her mother's voice on the answering machine was just as much of a shock as it was the last time she'd called, three months ago. "The Becketts," her mom had said. It felt like so long ago that they'd been the Becketts. So much had changed over the past six months.

She had three more quarters. That meant three more chances to call him. Maybe she couldn't have saved her mom's life, but it wasn't too late to try to save her dad's.

Kate turned away from the phone booth and began walking, hoping to figure out where she was. After a few turned corners, she finally found a building that she recognized. She oriented herself with her location, knowing that she'd need to go south to get to SoHo, and began the long walk.

Six and a half miles later, Kate arrived on Crosby Street in SoHo, fatigued and perspiring. The cloudless sky had caused the sun to shine down on her the entire way, and she was ready for a comfortable chair and a large glass of water. She spotted a restaurant across the street that didn't look too glitzy, unlike most of the places around here, and ducked in, hoping for a glass of water and directions to Broome Street. Unfortunately, water wasn't free, but directions were.

"Oh, you're not too far at all," the host told her. "Head that way"—he gestured—"for four blocks, and you'll hit Broome." Kate thanked him and exited the restaurant, beginning to walk in the direction that he'd pointed. In no time, she found herself standing at the intersection of Crosby and Broome. She searched for the nearest street number, locating one on the building just to her right. By pure luck, Kate had arrived at 424 Broome Street. That was almost exactly where she needed to be.

"So 425 must be right across the street," Kate thought, looking at the building facing her. It had five floors, with large windows decorating its deep brown exterior. It looked modest enough. "It must be really nice on the inside for someone like Castle to live here," she thought as she crossed the street. She quickly found the building's number and verified that she was at the correct address.

"So this is Richard Castle's home," she thought, glancing at her watch. Damn. It was only noon. Leave it to Kate to arrive five hours early.

Now what?

She was standing awkwardly in front of the apartment building, trying to decide what to do, when she heard her name.

"Kate! I thought that was you I saw out the window! What are you doing here so early?" Her face flushed. It was him.

"I… uh…" she stammered as she turned to face Castle.

"Oh, it's fine!" he said happily, glancing at his watch. "My previous sitter arrived five hours early all the time. Well, come to think of it," Rick continued, "she only arrived four hours early the last time. So you're already a step ahead of her." He smirked, and Kate couldn't help but grin. He was joking with her, and clearly not holding yesterday's events against her. Thank God.

"Why don't you come in?" he asked. "We were just about to have lunch. Alexis can't wait to meet you," he finished, gesturing up toward the windows. From the center window on the fourth floor, a small red-headed figure could be seen, watching their every move. Kate would have declined, not wanting to impose, but if Alexis knew she was already here…

"Sure," Kate answered, smiling hesitantly.

"Excellent!" Rick exclaimed, leading her toward the building's front door. "I hope you don't mind, but today's lunch menu isn't too glamorous. Chez Castle will be serving grilled cheese sandwiches and apple slices."

"That sounds perfect," Kate replied with a sincere smile as Castle held the door open for her.

Anything would have been perfect. She was about to get a second chance at lunch with Richard Castle, and she wouldn't screw it up this time.

Author's note: That chapter hurt. I actually teared up a bit writing the cemetery scene. I wanted to explore the moments that Kate decided to avenge her mom's murder and to save her dad's life. I'm not sure I did them justice, but I hope I did.

Thanks to my wonderful helpers thebazilelord, who speaks for Castle, and Trinity Everett, who helps my nonsense make sense. Both are excellent writers. Please check out their accounts and stories on here.

A fun note: go look up 425 Broome Street, NYC on Google Maps street view. You'll like what you see.

As always, thank you for reading, and thanks in advance for your reviews. I read each one of them and take your words into consideration.