A.N.: Still at the time of 1x01, a little scene before Castle starts to write his first words of Nikki Heat, after the iconic 'You have no idea" is said, and he gets home.

Thanks for reading! Hope you stick around to see more as this is still kind of an introduction phase... I appreciate every one of you.

The front door shut with a loud bang, yet Rick Castle didn't even flinch. Almost in trance, he was heading for the dining table, while his gaze was wandering somewhere out the grandiose windows of his loft. He tripped in the chair when he got to his destination. Still only half-noticing, he sat.

Some minutes passed, or maybe even hours. He jumped when Alexis' voice reached him.

"Dad, are you okay?" She was standing right across from him. He had no idea when she'd come.

"Yes, sweetie" He rubbed his eyes. "Why?"

His daughter ventured closer.

"I don't know… you just seem… different."

Rick caught up his head.

"Different? How..?" He knew he'd done some strange things while Alexis was growing up. His actions, good or bad, serious or childish, moved on a wide scale. He thought she had seen just about everything from him. However beneficial it might be – or not – for her.

"Yeah" Her face was showing insanely focused observation, a feature of hers that he suspected she got because she'd been growing up with a writer as a father whom it was very hard for a competitive kid to top at analyzing people. "It's like you were daydreaming, but not your usual way."

"I have a usual way of daydreaming?" He was stunned, and amused at the same time.

"Yes" She flashed a sophisticated, grown-up smile she'd had even as a child. "I can always tell when you're fantasizing about something crazy you want to do, you have this mad scientist expression, one just knows it's either going to be a real life disaster, or an awesome chapter in your next book", she sputtered. Oh, his kid knew him, that one was for sure. "But now… you seem more- peaceful. You give off some vibe of excitement, too, that's what makes it a weird combination. You even smiled a little."

"I did?" He'd not been aware.

"Yes. So, what happened?" The question got him unprepared.

"Nothing… It's just gonna take a while to process this real murder thing." He smiled at last. She still seemed worried, but now he also sensed a little impatience, and only now took notice of her outdoor clothes and bag.

"Where are you going?"

"Sleepover at Paige's" She wrinkled her brows. "You already agreed to this."

"Yes. Yes, I did." Rick stood up. "Have a nice time!"

Alexis looked confused.

"You sure you're okay, Dad?"

"Yes, I am. Go, don't make your friend wait! See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, tomorrow…bye, Dad"

She hesitantly took a step toward the door, but when she saw her father was already somewhere else in mind, she hurried out.

The moment she closed the door, he walked into his office. He sat down, put his legs up on the desk – and was staring out the window again.

It was barely the murder that he was caught up in. Directly, at least.

Being part of an investigation, though only as a writer, wasn't unfamiliar with him. Damn, he'd even watched CIA in action. That wasn't quite it, though. He'd had fun, and for a while he'd fallen head over heels for Sophia, the agent he'd shadowed, but she'd been nothing more than admirable. Hot and badass, yes, but all mystery around her had been because of her work. Exciting, interesting work, but that was it. Though it had been an entertaining ride for a while, it faded eventually.

Now something got to his core. He felt alive in every inches of him, felt closer to what he'd always been writing about than ever. Seeing Beckett in action made him a witness of something that in his heart of hearts had been a reason of his obsession with mystery from the very beginning. Something important.

Maybe he just overreacted after all that time spent wasted, blocked, and bored. He couldn't write anymore, so he exaggerated a real life experience… Did that make sense? And… did it really matter? The woman was gorgeous. Smart. Challanging.

She'd thought he wanted her for her body, and of course he couldn't deny he would definitely have taken a chance to see how bossy and claiming she could be in bed (or anywhere else for that matter)… but it wasn't her delicate, tall figure he couldn't stop thinking about.

Her eyes. It was the blazing look of those greenish irises, the unexpected mixture of determination and sorrow… and a certain amount of playfulness that never quite reached any other part of her. That was what excited him. He was almost desperate, he was slightly astonished to realize, to find out what locked all that passion inside and made her pretend to be so… strict.

He was sure he'd profiled her right on their first day together – it had caught her so off-guard that for a moment he could see all her sentiments running across her beautiful face. He in fact felt bad, guilty even, thinking about how vulnerable he'd seemed to make her.

Still, he wanted to see the story. Her story. Not just this one, he longed for learning everything about her.

"You have no idea"… oh, he did have, plenty of ideas. He wanted to know, though.

It wasn't until at least half an hour had passed that he realized he actually had a story building up in his head. Whole little scenes, composed into nice phrases, and even more pictures that ran through his mind… He had unconsciously started the writing process.

He found his inspiration.

He couldn't help but smile by this thought. He reached for his laptop. He could just use what he had and write a good story. And would start with a draft in a minute, of course.

But that wouldn't mean he would get to know her story. He needed to find out more about her. Except she was never going to let him shadow her, like Sophia had, while on a case that's not related to him.

Well, not if it's up to her, anyway.

He felt a grin growing on his face while he reached for his cell phone.

It's time to call his buddy, the mayor.