A/N: Slight time jump here.

Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to review! Hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter Five

It was 6pm and Kate's feet ached. It was something a hot bath could work wonders on, but unfortunately, it would be a few hours before that was a possibility.

She took a long sip of the iced mocha and opened the cover of Storm Fall. It was Richard Castle's latest book, and rumored to be the last of Derrick Storm. She doubted it would really be the last of her favorite character, but if it was, she looked forward to reading whatever he came up with next.

But Kate's mind was wandering, not staying focused on the reading at all. She was still adjusting to the changes made in her life over the past few months: gaining strange powers... resigning... and now buying a coffee shop.

The papers had finally been signed, and this was her first official day of ownership. Everything had gone through so easily, from price negotiations to the now-former owners allowing her to hang around before so she could learn the ropes. It was definitely different from being a cop, not to mention it also kept her stocked up in coffee - something that she needed in the life bestowed upon her. She couldn't complain at all about the investment.

It definitely was a nice, quiet, balance to the craziness that took over some nights. She had seen more than a few headlines and articles in the paper about a certain female superhero who the city had gladly claimed as their own. She couldn't help but feel a little (maybe a lot) proud of that.

The ring of the hanging bell on the door caught Kate's attention, so she made her way back to the front counter. A tall man in sunglasses with a messenger bag and a smirk on his face strode in.

"Good evening," she greeted, "What can I get for you?"

He seemed to study over the menu for a time, then said, "I'll take a grande whatever-you-suggest."

Kate blinked. She really didn't care for this kind of order. "Okay... you sure you trust me?"

His smirk turned slowly into a grin. "I didn't say that, but I bet you do your best work on the kind of coffee you enjoy yourself."

"All right," she said, still not quite understanding, but going with it anyway, "I'll have it for you in just a sec."

She quickly made the coffee, maybe using a few shortcuts with her powers, then handed it to him. "Grande skim latte, two pumps of vanilla." Usually, it was sugar-free vanilla she used, but figured he wouldn't care so much for that.

"That was really fast. Thanks." he said, then paid for the drink and walked to the booth in the far corner. He opened the bag and pulled out a laptop, then sat there, staring at the screen.

Kate took a towel and went to wipe down a few tables she'd missed earlier. One was not too far from the man, and she hoped not to disturb him.

"You're probably wondering what has me here at this time of the day," he said as she bent over and began cleaning off the table.

"I honestly didn't think much about it." Kate looked up at him as she wiped the chairs off. "A lot of people come here at odd times to read, write, or whatever. There really isn't a certain time of day for anything."

He'd taken his glasses off and she thought she recognized him, but she didn't ask. It had been a long day, and after working in the public for a while, both on the police force and here, she had seen lots of "familiar" faces.

He made some sort of non-committal noise and typed for a moment, then appeared to delete the entire thing. "I'm supposed to have a chapter written in less than two days, and I've got nothing. I hoped a venue besides my office would help."

"You just have to give it time," she offered, hoping to sound encouraging, "Maybe you're trying too hard."

"Could be," he agreed, then stared at the screen a little more. He seemed as though he had the weight of the world upon his shoulders.

As she began to walk away, he spoke again, "I saw you had a book on the counter. What genres do you like to read?"

Kate shrugged, feeling like she'd been put on the spot. She took a seat, facing him, at the closest table and said, "Most of the time, I read mysteries. I have also read a few sci-fi novels and several of the classics."

"Interesting," he observed, then smiled as he took a drink of his coffee. He leaned back in his chair and said, "You are fairly well-read, or at least sound like it. Do you have any ideas of a story or situation you would like to read about?"

"I don't know," Kate took the first idea off the top of her head. "Maybe some bad-ass female detective that's being followed around by a wannabe writer?"

"That could be interesting..." he started to type, then stopped again, thinking for a time before typing more.

He seemed absorbed in his task now, so she got up to finish wiping the tables.

A few hours later, he left, leaving her a fifty dollar tip with a note, saying, "Thanks for your help."

For a time, she wondered about the man, and why he chose her place to write. But then, it was probably a freak thing, and she would probably never see him again. Either way, he made the evening a bit more interesting.

Kate stuffed the tip into her pocket, then smiled as she looked at the clock.

Almost time for the fun to begin.