"Shouldn't you be schmoozing or something?" Kate asked as she accepted the flute of bubbling champagne that Rick passed her.

He settled onto the stool beside her at the poseur table they'd managed to find unattended, tucked neatly to the side of the room. Close, but not too close. They could still mingle as people passed by, but they weren't in the very thick of the social event which allowed them the modicum of privacy he craved.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to get rid of me."

Kate placed her hand over his and leaned closer, bumping her shoulder against his arm.

"Oh, God no!" she laughed. "I just don't want you to feel like you have to sit with me all night."

"I want to sit with you. This is a rare opportunity for me: to be able to just be here. No speeches, no responsibilities, just you and me."

She brought the flute up to her lips, used the small but slow sip of champagne to hide the smile she couldn't stop from twitching at the corners of her mouth.

"Besides, we're in for a long night and I figured you'd have so much more fun if I got a glass or two of the good stuff into you before I drag you around to mingle with what might be some of the most boring people you will ever meet," he added.

Kate laughed. "That's so considerate of you," she said sarcastically.

Rick had been right: this wasn't the most interesting crowd of people. Not that she had doubted him, of course. And they hadn't really done all that much mingling - only interacting with a handful of people so far - but, if there was anyone in this room that had anything of interest to say, she hadn't met them yet.

There had been one man who had roused her interest the moment she had spotted him, however. He was elderly - had to have been approaching 70 years of age - but he walked with the vigour of a man decades younger. His blue and yellow spotted bowtie and matching suspenders had him standing out in the sea of people around him. She had been watching him on and off throughout the evening, finding amusement in the lively way he interacted with the other guests.

The man had smiled the second he spotted Rick from across the room, honed in on him and made a beeline for their table.

"Rick Castle, you bastard!" he shouted as he approached.

Kate turned to Rick, her eyes wide as confusion rendered her speechless.

"How the hell have you been?"

Rick rose from his seat and offered his hand to the man, who eagerly slapped his palm against Rick's and shook his hand enthusiastically.

"Good to see you again, Merle."

Rick took a small step backward and allowed Kate to come into view.

"I'd like you to meet my friend, Kate," he said, drawing the man's attention to her. "Kate, this is Merle."

Kate stood. "It's nice to meet you." She held her hand out, bracing herself for an overly-enthusiastic hand shake but to her surprise, Merle delicately folded his fingers around hers and lifted her hand to his face, pressing a quick kiss to her knuckles. "Oh," she mouthed silently.

"A pleasure," the man drawled.

"You ready to make a deal yet, Merle?" Rick asked him, hoping that once he had the man's attention Kate's hand would be freed.

Merle laughed and shook his head. "You don't give up, do you?"

Rick turned his head to address Kate, who had hugged her hand to her stomach; no doubt trying to subtly wipe the back of her hand clean.

"Merle has a '62 Aston Martin Zagato," he informed her excitedly before turning back to face the man in front of them. "I've made several offers, but he refuses to sell it. Keeps trying to sell me a Camaro instead."

"Not just any Camaro, Rick! A 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1." Merle clarified.

"you own a '69 ZL1?" Kate asked, her disbelief evident in the slight gape of her mouth. "That's a pretty rare car."

"It's a beautiful car," Castle agreed with the admiration that must have been written all over her face. "But it's not my Aston Martin."

"My Aston Martin," Merle corrected. "Why don't you come out to my place in the Hamptons? You can take your little lady for a drive. The ZL1 would make a wonderful gift."

"The little lady wouldn't let me pay for her coffee this afternoon," Rick complained. "What makes you think she'd accept a million dollar car?"

Kate pressed her lips into a tight line, attempting to mask her reaction to that hefty price tag.

"For you, my friend, only nine-hundred and fifty thousand."

"Your generosity is inspiring," Castle said sarcastically. "But I'll have to pass, sorry."

Merle shrugged. "Your loss," he muttered as he walked away.

"Sorry about that," Rick said once they settled back onto their stools.

"I honestly cannot tell if he likes you or not," Kate thought aloud, bewilderment evident in her smile.

"Yeah," Rick sighed. "Me neither. That pretty much sums up this life, though. You can't really take anything at face value."

"Sounds... exhausting."

Rick hummed in agreement as he sipped from his drink.

Kate did the same, sipping slowly to savour the bubbling sensation against her lips, the sweet fruity taste on her tongue.

"Speaking of exhausting," Rick mumbled through gritted teeth. He schooled his composure quickly, plastering a smile on his face as he grabbed Kate's hand and slipped from his stool.

"Come with me," he instructed her before leading her further into the crowd.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they weaved through the other party guests.

"You'll see," was all he offered in response.

The number of bodies they had to weave through began to lessen as they reached the opposite side of the room. On the very edge of the crowd was the man of the night: Alex Conrad.

"Alex!" Rick greeted the author like an old friend, bypassing the formalities of a handshake and opting for what she could only describe as a man hug instead.

"Rick," Alex returned the salutations. "Thanks so much for coming tonight. It means a lot."

"Wouldn't be anywhere else."

Kate watched on, intrigued. Both men were being pleasant, friendly, and yet there was an underlying tension to the interaction.

She adjusted her facial expression when Castle shifted his attention to her, ready to make introductions.

"This is my friend Kate." He placed his hand on her lower back and guided her forward a few small steps.

Alex shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"She's a big fan of your work," Rick added, sending a flush of heat to Kate's cheeks. "You wouldn't mind signing a book for her, would you?"

"Of course not." Alex smiled. "I've actually just been summoned by my publicist," he excused. "But I'll track you down when I'm done and I'll sign it for you."

"Thanks man, I appreciate it." Rick clapped his palm to Alex's shoulder and the younger man rushed off.

Rick sighed - as if that small interaction had exhausted him - and turned back to Kate.

"You can thank me later," he boasted.

Kate crossed her arms, bit down on her bottom lip as she took a moment to study her friend.

"You don't like him," she asserted.

It was a guess, she had nothing more than a gut feeling to back her up, but the microscopic flare of fear in his eyes was all the confirmation she needed.

"What?" he asked - the pitch of his voice just slightly off. "Sure I do!"

She arched her brow and waited for his confession.

"I do!" he insisted, but she didn't buy it.

She had watched Rick interact with enough people to know when he wasn't being 100% genuine. And he had literally just told her not to take anything at face value.

She relented; for now. "Okay."

Rick crumbled within seconds.

"He's outselling me," he confessed with a heavy sigh.

"Is he?" Genuine disbelief crinkled as her brow furrowed.

Alex Conrad had bulldozed his way to the top in record time after Jennifer Aniston had been photographed reading his debut novel just days after it's release. Within days his sales figures had increased exponentially and he had ridden that wave of good fortune for weeks. But that spotlight had faded just as quickly as it had appeared and, once the hype of Aniston's unofficial endorsement had worn off, he had fallen back in line with every other author that was waiting for their moment to shine.

He had a fairly solid fanbase - that was evident - but he wasn't a household name like Richard Castle.

"I didn't think the book was released yet?" she continued. "Isn't that the point of this party?"

"Pre-orders," he explained. "He's doing remarkably well."

Kate looked across the room, her eyes studying as she took a moment to watch Alex as he told a rather animated story to the group of people he was with.

"They're calling him the next Richard Castle," Rick continued and she turned her attention back to him.

He seemed... heavy. Burdened by a sudden weight that she could tell he didn't want to bear.

"It's like they're replacing me but I haven't even gone anywhere, you know?" Rick shook his head and laughed a self-deprecating kind of laugh. "It's stupid, I know."

"It's not stupid," Kate argued but he continued as if she hadn't said a word.

"And, really, I didn't mind. I'm happy for him."

She nodded. She believed that he wanted to be happy for the man, his self-proclaimed protégé. "But?"

Rick sighed but offered her a weak smile. "But... you didn't want to come to this until you found out it was for Alex. And then Lanie and Jenny were so excited about his stupid book-"

Kate caught her bottom lip between her teeth but couldn't suppress her laugh. Rick was jealous.

"It's pathetic, I know."

Kate shook her head, leaned in closer. "Not pathetic," she assured him with a soft smile.

Her hand sought out his and she intertwined their fingers.

"You're right: I didn't want to come to this event. And, yes, the thought of maybe meeting Alex Conrad did sweeten the deal just a little bit," she admitted. Her free hand lifted, delicately touching her fingertips to his cheek. "But I'm not here for him, Rick. I'm here because I had planned on spending my evening with you and I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of those plans."

She kept her smile warm and her eyes glued to his as she waited for him to accept her words, to allow them to ease some of that weight he carried. She might not have had the ability to ease that professional pressure but she could sure as hell convince him that Alex Conrad was but a blip on her radar when it came to mystery writers.

"Come on-" She tilted her head back toward their abandoned table. "I want to tell you something."

They walked together, hand in hand, until they found their way back to their quiet little table. As they sat down a waiter with a tray of champagne glasses walked by, pausing momentarily to allow them both to take a glass.

"Do you have a comfort book?" she asked him after they both sipped from their third flute of champagne.

Rick's brows scrunched, his confusion so evident in the lines that marred his forehead. "A comfort book?"

"Yeah. A story that you go back to again and again. It's familiar, reliable, nostalgic maybe? Whatever the reason, it's comforting."

The lines on his face eased as his frown turned into an understanding smile. "Yeah, I do," he confirmed. "Casino Royale."

Kate smiled at the new insight he had just offered her. "Bond. Of course."

"Yours?"

Kate shook her head. "This isn't about me."

"No?"

"In a Hail Of Bullets," she said. "My mum read it at least five times. And that's just what I know of, she probably read it even more."

"Your mom read my books?" he asked, a sense of honour bubbling in his chest. Not only did she read them, she found comfort in them.

"Mhmm." Kate smiled as she recalled memories from so long ago. "I remember your books lying around the house. Your little portrait-" She held her finger and her thumb up to demonstrate the size of the headshot. "On the back cover staring back at me."

"Did-" Rick hesitated. She knew what he was about to ask her, why he might not have wanted to know the answer. "Did you recognise me that night?"

"No," she said softly, shaking her slightly. "Maybe subconsciously?" she added with a shrug.

"Subconsciously?"

"There was something about you, Rick. Something familiar. But I didn't know what it was. It wasn't until Ryan and Espo showed me the Page Six column that it all kind of fell together and I remembered." Kate sighed. "It sounds... stupid."

"No it doesn't," Rick assured her. "I mean, In a Hail Of Bullets was published twenty years ago: I barely recognise myself in those photos."

She smiled and leant in closer, didn't resist the urge to smooth her thumb across the lines that bracketed his smile. Lines that had deepened since that image on the back of his books, but the added detail to his face had only enhanced his features.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "I don't think you've changed that much."

Rick laughed. "That must be the effects of the alcohol starting to set in."

She smiled knowing that it very well might have been - she had always been less reserved with her compliments once her buzz kicked in - but it took more than a few glasses of slowly-sipped wine to have her talking nonsense. The gentle flutter in her belly and the slight flush of rosiness that tinted her cheeks and ears wasn't the first signs of drunkenness. No, it was the first signs of something much more serious.

"I told my dad about you." The words seemed to burst through her lips like a secret she'd had to keep for far too long.

"Oh yeah?"

She noticed the slight change - the subtle puff of his chest, the excitement in his eyes - as she hummed in confirmation.

"What did you tell him?"

Kate chuckled. "I spared him the details; told him that our paths just happened to cross and we got to talking and you're actually quite interesting."

"Had you doubted how interesting I could be?"

Just a hint of offence tainted his question, but she reassured him with the shake of her head.

"Not at all," she promised. "He said that if I was going to be friends with an author I should probably familiarise myself with his work."

Rick hummed thoughtfully. "I hear that helps."

"The next day he dropped off some of your books that he had dug out of a box of my mum's things."

"You'll have the whole collection before you know it," he joked.

"Actually... Lanie and I raided the book store near the precinct. Between the two of us we bought every title they had."

Rick shook his head slowly, his smile growing with each passing second.

"Lanie started with your earlier stories. She's just finished At Dusk We Die."

"And you decided to just dive right into the Storm series?"

Kate nodded. "I did start In A Hail Of Bullets but... my mum liked to annotate her books. I just wasn't ready for that, I guess. But when I am ready I think it will be nice to have those little notes there, you know?"

"Kind of like you can discuss the book with her," Rick added.

"Yeah. Is that weird?"

"No," he reassured her. "I think that's something really special, actually."

Rick remained lost in her eyes for a moment, relishing in the idea that maybe, just maybe his books could be a way to help Kate feel close to her mother again. He had found clarity in this moment: where he sat on some arbitrary list didn't matter and if someone was going to steal his spotlight, he would be thrilled for it to be Alex Conrad.

He didn't start writing because he wanted to be the best. He didn't start writing for the money or the fame.

He had wanted to reach people, connect with them. He wanted to entertain, to inspire.

He had forgotten that for too long.

"Thank you," he said with the utmost sincerity.