A/N: not sure what compelled me to start writing this six weeks before completing my master's degree, but i'll do my best to update when i can.

content warning for the upcoming chapter: mention of alcohol abuse


Mid-October, Bobst Library

"You're late," Kate grumbles as Rick arrives at the private study room they'd reserved at the university library. It was a little after 10AM on a Saturday and there were plenty of other things they could've been doing but they had decided to get a head start on the semester project.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Rick apologizes. "I should have texted, but, I brought coffee." That certainly made up for his tardiness, Kate thought, as she grabbed the cup from him.

"Thank you," she smiles. She softly blows into the hole in the lid to cool the drink down, catching a whiff of her oh-so-familiar lifeline.

"Sure," Rick smiles back. "The line was longer than I expected, that's why I was late,"

Kate takes a small sip, expecting just drip coffee but being pleasantly surprised by the subtle vanilla and frothy milk. "You remembered my order?"

It had been two weeks since their awkward encounter at the coffee shop, but when it came to Kate, Rick found even the little details hard to forget. "Good memory, I guess."

They then spent the better part of an hour writing up an outline for their project, Kate ruthlessly scrutinizing the course syllabus to ensure they had a plan for every required detail. Rick was surprisingly cooperative, listening to her ideas, sharing his own, and staying on task. They had made good progress for the day and decided around Noon to pack up. Before they parted ways, Kate's cell phone buzzed and Rick couldn't help but notice the dopey smile on her face as she read the text she'd received.

"Text from your boyfriend?" Rick asks.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Kate shoots back.

"Yeah, that's why I asked," Rick laughs. "Why is everything a battle with you?"

"I-" Kate was taken aback.

"All I meant was you never just say yes or no," Rick points points out. "Didn't mean to offend."

"It's Lanie," Kate says. "We're just planning our Halloween costumes."

"Oh, I love Halloween!" Rick exclaims. "What're you gonna be? Something smart? Something funny? Something sexy?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," Kate flirts.

"Wow, is that, is that a promise?" Rick asks. He really hopes so.

Kate scoffs. "Anyway...I'm gonna go," she changes the subject. "I'll see you in class on Tuesday?"

"Yes," Rick nods. "Until Tuesday."

Kate saunters toward the staircase, back pack hanging off her shoulder as she walks. Before she descends, though, she glances back into the glass enclosure she and Rick had just spent the morning in. He'd sat back down and was shuffling through that notebook again. Her curiosity pulls her back toward him, against her better judgment. She walks back into the study room and sits back down. "What's with the notebook?" She asks bluntly.

Rick quickly slams the book shut as he jumps in his seat. "You're going to give me a heart attack!" He exclaims.

"I see you looking through it all the time but I never see you actually taking any notes in class," Kate says as she sits back down across from him.

"It's not class notes," Rick admits.

"Okay..."

"I'm a writer," Rick states. "This is for when the muse strikes."

"Uh, huh," Kate accepts. "A writer, huh? That explains...a lot."

"Oh, does it now?" Rick laughs.

"Have you written anything I might have heard of?" Kate asks.

"I write mystery novels," Rick says. "In a Hail of Bullets was sort of my big break a few years ago."

"In a Hail o—You're Richard Castle?"

"Guilty as charged," Castle nods. "So, you're familiar with my work, then?"

"Yeah, my mom. She loved your first few books," Kate explains. "I actually just finished your last one before the semester started. You haven't had anything new recently, though?"

"Not in more than a year, no," Rick sighs.

"Huh, so why exactly is a best-selling author taking a Legal Studies course?"

"Well, when my first book struck gold, I was still in college. I decided to take time away from school to write full-time, which was going well for a little while. I cranked out three books a year for the next two years. I had 7 best-sellers by age 23, but sort of hit a wall since. I was only a few credits short of my degree when I left school so I decided that this semester is the one I finally get my diploma," Rick explains. "This class helps me write crime scenes and police procedure more authentically."

"Oh, so you annoying the hell out of me this semester has all been in the name of research. Got it," Kate laughs.

"Hey, many people would be honored to be my partner on this project," Rick says.

"Sure, Mr. 7 best-sellers by age 23," Kate mocks.

"You say as if that's not impressive," Rick laughs.

"I think I'll be impressed when you actually start showing up to class on time." She was only marginally serious, but she could tell she'd hit a nerve. The playful grin on his face had faded a bit.

"Yeah, I'm, uh, working on that..."

"I'd also be more impressed if you shared what you have in mind for best-seller number 8," Kate smiles, trying to bring that shimmer back to his striking blue eyes.

"That's what my editor would call privileged information," Rick deflects.

"And that response is what I call bull shit," Kate calls his bluff. "C'mon it's not like I'm going to go on to the Richard Castle website and spill to your fans the plot of your next book."

"I don't quite know the plot to my next book," Rick admits. "But I will keep you apprised."

"Yes, please keep me apprised," Kate tells him.

"And Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"When I do release my next book I'll be sure to have a signed copy for your mom," Rick smiles.

Kate's face flushes. The energy from their flirtatious banter drains from the room. "Uh, thanks." She gulps, her throat suddenly feeling very dry. "And thanks for sharing about the notebook. I don't know how you remember all that information from the readings and lectures, but it could be helpful to compare notes for our project going forward."

"Sure," Rick agrees. "I'll start jotting down my ideas on Tuesday."

"Cool," Kate nods. "Well, I guess I should actually go now."

As she stands up and heads toward the door, Rick decides to shoot his shot, so to speak.

"Hey, Kate," he starts. "Before you go...My buddy is throwing a Halloween party near my place in Soho. Would you and Lanie and any of your other friends like to come?"

"Why, Mr. Castle, I think we'd be quite honored to attend," Kate fakes an old timey mid-atlantic accent.

"Trust me, it is I who would be honored," Rick says. "And just for purposes of the guest list, what will you and Lanie be dressed as?"

"Nice try," Kate laughs. "See you Tuesday."


Her phone was ringing. Why was her phone ringing? With heavy eyelids she rolled over and pulled her phone from the charger on the bedside table. Still in the dark of night, the bright screen made her green eyes burn red.

"Dad?" She answers in a panic. "It's 3 in the morning, what's wrong?"

"Katie? I'm sosorry, Katie," Jim cries on the other end of the line. "I I-need yourhelp," he slurs.

Kate sighs. Not again. "Where are you?"

"I don know—where am I?" She hears another voice in the background. It wasn't one that she recognized but it at least belonged to someone coherent. Jim moves the speaker of his phone away from himself but Kate still hears him attempting to talk to whoever he was with. "Is my daugh'er," he says. "Yeah, her' go."

"Hello? Is this Jim's daughter?" The sober voice finally asks from Jim's phone.

"Who is this?" Kate asks, all sleepiness she felt now completely replaced with stress.

"I'm Fred, a bartender at Connie O's in Greenpoint," the man says.

"Brooklyn!?" Kate exclaims.

"'Fraid so," Fred laughs. "I'm closing up for the night and I would just send your dad home in the taxi, but I'm not sure he'd make it there."

"Of course," Kate sighs. "Uh, thanks for having him call me. I'm in Greenwich so I can be there in half an hour maybe?"

"Sure," Fred says. "I'll try and get him to drink some water while we wait."

"Thanks," Kate says before she hangs up.

She had lost count how many times she's done this in the past year and a half. Get a call, roll out of bed, get dressed, hail a cab to whichever bar her father had stumbled to that night. Usually she was hailing a cab to Tribeca or the Bowery, not too far from her dad's apartment, but Brooklyn? How'd he even get over there? She yawned as she put on her coat and locked up her apartment. Luckily she'd gotten a cab right away and was on her way to Greenpoint in minutes.

It was either really late or really early when Kate made it back home. She didn't know what 5AM was consider since it was still dark but it wouldn't be for long. Regardless, she was exhausted as she slithered back into bed. Wrestling an adult toddler was tiring enough, but when that adult toddler is your belligerently drunk father, it was down right emotionally draining. Kate tried not to think about it too much tonight. She just wanted to sleep, but before she knew it, her cheeks were stained with warm tears.

When her alarm went off a few hours later, she didn't feel human yet. The repetition of the blaring sound from her clock pierced her with each blast, but the noise felt so distant. She laid there frozen on her mattress, staring at the ceiling, sunlight casting morning shadows across the room. After several minutes, she finally mustered the energy to turn the alarm off, but not enough to get out of bed. Slowly, she felt her soul coming back to her, the gears in her brain starting to turn.

It was Tuesday. That mere fact brought her to her feet. It was Tuesday and at 9:30 she had Legal Studies 370. That got her walking to the kitchen. It was Tuesday and at 9:30 she had Legal Studies 370 with Rick. That put a smile on her face.

By the time she found her seat in the lecture hall, she was feeling much more herself. Still, she couldn't help but yawn as she pulled out her notebook.

"Coffee?" A familiar voice asks. She looks up, and there is Rick with two large to-go cups in hand. He grins as he slides into the seat next to her, and she grabs her cup from him.

"Thank you," she nods. "You have no idea how much I need this." She gulps down her first taste, caring very little when the beverage burns her tongue. It's the jolt she needs. Now she feels alive.

"Of course," Rick grins. "Happy Tuesday."

"Happy Tuesday," she repeats. The charming smile that once made her so inexplicably angry now had a different effect. Now she feels warm, maybe even happy. Then she realized, "wait a minute!"

"What?"

"It's 9:27," Kate says after glancing at her watch in dramatic fashion.

"Is it? Mine must be running a little fast," Rick jokes, holding up his wrist with an exaggerated frown.

"You brought coffee...and you're on time," Kate reiterates. "Are you...okay?"

"Trust me, Kate," he says as he subtly places his hand on her desk and rubs his pinky against hers. "I've never been better."

An involuntary pink hue once again fills Kate's cheeks, an increasingly common trend these days, she's noticed. She smiles softly and grabs her bottom lip with her teeth. In a matter of minutes she went from questioning her humanity to feeling the warmest human feeling there is, something she honestly hadn't felt in a while.

She felt loved.