Castle and Beckett have never met before. Sure Beckett has heard of the famous author Richard Castle but in Kate's drunken state she just wants to be his friend and Castle finds Kate extremely alluring and is intrigued to learn more, but what happens when Kate needs rescuing. Will they get help?
•••
All I want is something new
Something I can hold on to
I don't wanna talk
I just wanna dance
Baby let it drop
Catch me if you can
Girls Aloud - Something New
•••
He was drinking a scotch. It was loud and all he wanted was some peace of mind. A sign to let him know that this world had to get better. But he couldn't find it. He was at a club, and usually clubs are supposed to make you happy and loud. But not this time. This time Richard Castle was not partying. Despite his playboy reputation he really had a nice heart, but on this particular night, he kept to himself. He didn't know why he was so particularly off tonight, but it didn't bother him as much. That was until he spotted her.
She was a tall brunette, with a dark, navy, blue, above the thigh dress, and black stilettos. She was obviously drunk, by the way she kept stumbling, but Richard Castle was glad she was happy. There was something about this particular woman that he was drawn to. He couldn't put a label on it, because he was drawn to everything about her.
When he saw her leave the dance floor and walk towards the bar, he couldn't help but feel butterflies swarm around his stomach. He never got butterflies, why was this woman giving him butterflies?
She's even more stunning up close, he thought and she slammed her hands down on the counter only a few inches away from his. She folded her elbows on the counter and leaned over, and Castle couldn't help but lean back and look, and he didn't regret it. He quickly sat back up before anyone noticed and caught a glimpse of her eyes. They were almost a brown hazel and when the lights captured them it only amplified their magnificence. He wanted to feel her skin against his, not in a sexual way, but in a hug. He wanted to feel her heart and he wanted to hear her laugh and watch her smile.
He was lost in his thoughts and didn't feel her tap his nose. She did it once more with a little bit of force and he was brought back down to earth. His eyes widen when he saw that their faces were mere inches apart. She smiled and then laughed. It was so much better than he had expected. It was better than a chorus of angels. Her smile was contagious and her laughter was impossible not to follow.
"You're pretty." She giggled as she tilted her head to the side as if that would allow her to see him clearer.
"So are you." He said gently and felt his heart get warmer as a blush appeared on her cheeks.
"But you're, really, r-really pretty." She laughed a bit louder and turned toward the bartender to receive the two shots she had ordered while Castle was lost in the maze of his mind.
Her watched in intrigue as she downed the first shot as if it was nothing. She then looked over at him and said, "y-you know, s-staring is creepy." She bit her lip and slid the shot over to him.
"Oh no, I couldn't." Rick mumbled.
"Please, f-for meeeeeee." She held the final 'e' and leaned in closer. Rick could feel her intoxicated breathe on him.
"N-no, I-I-I can't." He stammered.
"Fine." She huffed and drank the shot she had given to him and gave her angry-pouting face and stomped off.
Castle sighed. He would've loved to have gotten to know her. He could only assume that when she was sober she would be even more alluring. He sighed yet again and turned and took a small sip of his scotch before swiveling around in his chair and watching this mysterious woman go back to her dancing.
About half an hour later Castle was back to staring at his hands and crunching on the ice of his finished drink. He glanced around the room looking for someone to 'party' with. Just something to do, to distract him from his current state of depression. He stood and forced himself to move his legs to socialization. He pushed through the crowds and then he saw her. But she was with another guy and they laughing and dancing together. So much for be socialization. The only person he wanted to social with was apparently in a relationship. Apparently.
He saw this woman try push back slightly and move along to a different part of the club when this other man grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
She quickly got out of his strong grip for being so tiny and back away, but bumped into another body. She turned and saw another man. She went to run but yet another grabbed her by the back of her waist and lifted her up to pull her back.
Castle waisted no time and running over to her. He pushed the other man back.
"What do you think you're doing!" He yelled.
"Excuse me, but were we dealing with you? I don't think so, so back off buddy." One of the men threw back.
"She obviously doesn't know what you want to do with her so leave her alone."
"Oh yeah? Make me."
Castle drew back his arm and swung through with a powerful punch that connected directly with this guy's nose. He stumble back letting go off the woman who fell to the ground, not realizing her feet had connected with the ground.
"Can't you see she's drunk? I know what you guys look like, I can go to the police. And I don't think you want that do you." Castle said as he kneeled down to grabbed this girl by the arms and help her stand. The men obviously afraid of being outed to the police, not only left the surrounding crowd, but the whole club all together.
"D-did you say police?" She mumbled as Castle ushered her to a booth in a secluded part of the club.
"Yeah, but don't worry, everything is ok." He reassured her.
"But I am the police." She laughed, and Castle couldn't tell if she was serious or not to as wether she was law enforcement.
"You are?"
"U-uh-huh." She hiccuped and put her arms on the table and dropped her head down, before eventually giving in to a snooze and letting her head rest in her arms. Castle watched her back as it rose and fell in steady paces.
As disturbing as it sounded he could watch her sleep for ages. He found it fascinating how one could sleep and be oblivious to their surroundings and decompress and subdue to their true selves, without having to be anyone they're not. Even if tongue don't say anything, it's all about body language.
"Excuse me, but can I have an ice water please." Castle called out to the bartender he had become acquaintances with, he turned away after he saw the woman nod. He then put his full focus back on the beauty in front of him. He wondered if when she woke up she would even want to see him.
He saw her stir and then straighter his slouching posture. He watched as she began to rotate her head from side to side while slowly lifting it. She squinted her eyes when she looked up at him and then pushed her body back against the booth.
"W-what?" She asked putting one hand over her forehead, both her elbows once giant propped up on the table.
"You fell down on the dance floor so I brought you here, afraid to leave you there." He said as the bartender came back with the ice water Rick had ordered.
The woman sitting across from his looked at the water as if it had a glass full of worms and mud.
"Here, drink this," Castle slid the glass over to her, and if anything, this woman scooted farther away from it, "it's just water. The good ol' h2o."
"I'm not thirsty." She groaned turning her gaze away from the glass.
"You need it." Castle tried to coax her into drinking it, but it didn't work.
"Don't tell me what to do." She scoffed and turned her whole head away from the table, staring blankly against the booth wall.
"But-"
"But I don't even know you! Just leave me alone!" She yelled.
Wow. Castle thought. About an hour ago she was flirting with him, but now she was looking at him like he killed her dog. Castle didn't want to be scolded any further. He stood and scooted out of the booth.
He began to walk away and could almost feel the hardness of her glare fade, as she desperately called after him.
"Wait!" She said to him, "please don't leave."
"Why?" He said only turbo half of his body around.
"Because." She smiled a crooked smile, the smile you give after you just had a cavity filled and the novocaine is still active.
"Because isn't an answer." He said and turned his body away from her. All he did was save her from getting sexually assulted by three men, if that's what even was going to happen.
"Well it should be, because I have nothing better to come up with right now." She laughed to herself and looked down defeated.
She looked up when she heard the squeak of the leather of the seat across from her and looked up with a smile when she saw it was this ever so giving man.
"You're lucky I'm desperate." He smiled.
"Thank you." Her smile only increased as she showed him that she was drinking the water.
"No problem," Castle matched her smile, "I'm Rick."
"You look really familiar, but that's p-probably because I'm still drunk."
"You're doing better than an hour ago."
"What do you mean?"
"You were basically throwing yourself at me to convince me to take shots with you."
"Oh God, Rick...well...Rick, I'm Kate. I wish I would've met you when I wasn't dunk so I could've remembered the feeling."
"It was pretty great, for me anyways."
"Uck." Kate said placing down her glass and removing the straw from her mouth.
"What? Are you ok?"
"I think I'm gonna be sick."
"Do you want me to drive you home?"
"You would do that?"
"Of course I would."
"Then sure."
He helped her stand and assisted her to his car reassuring to her that after they exchange numbers, in the morning she would call him and he would drive with her to go pick up her car.
The two were complete strangers till that night and knew barely anything about each other, but yet, nothing ever felt so right, and new, so clean. It was start for the both of them, which is exactly what they each needed in their life. Both of them were through a hard time, with explains the alcohol.
Yet none of that mattered because they knew they would be accepting of one another for the rest of their lives.