Caskett AU meeting

Multichapter

Rating: T [for now]

Angst/Comfort

"I wish I could see your face, Rick, but the only thing I see is your shape."

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.

Blowing out a breath through his nose, he locks the door to his dark, empty apartment and heads towards the elevator.

Although it is a bit chilly outside, he decided that he wants to go out for a walk and do something different, and not stay all day in front of his laptop, waiting for inspiration to strike him. Like every single day – waiting for nothing.

Stepping outside into the cold, windy day, he takes a random turn into some unspecific direction. He doesn't care where he goes, he just wants to walk, to do something.

The snow fell softly to the silent ground at the first sigh of the wind. With the mystery of the night, and the silence so deep and white, the day had the creepiness of the world's end. The naked trees, dotted along the edges of the lane, groaned and moaned under the weight of the snow that lay innocently on their branches.

He breathes in the cold air mixed with the smell of gasoline through his nose, stuffs his already numb fingers safely into his coat pockets and continues to let his legs carry him away. Away from the indifference and the sadness that hinders his breathing for the past year and a half.

He watches as blankets of white snow coats the sidewalks and frosty corners freeze in the shady yards by the shed. People around him twists their scarfs tightly around their necks, noses sniffled and turned red.

All of those people are living their lives, smiles full of happiness painted across their faces and here is Richard Castle, wandering alone through the crowds. If he was more-

"Crap!" His head immediately whips around at the sound of a woman's yelp and something falling on the ground.

Searching with his eyes, he spots a woman sitting on the cold ice, her face turning into a big frown and rubbing at her ankle. She must've slipped on the ice – and why the heck he's still staring instead of helping?

The sidewalk is full of people and yet no one even stopped for a second to offer the woman a help.

As he came closer, he barely heard soft whimpering sounds and saw that her face glistens with freshly shed tears. He quickly rushes to his feet, kneeling down in front of the woman, waiting for her to notice his presence. But she doesn't.

Wow.

Did he mention that even with a big frown and scrunched eyes, she's looking breathtakingly beautiful and young? She's wearing a coach trench coat, visible sweatshirt beneath it and – oh. He was so fascinated and amazed by her looks, that he didn't notice the white cane that must've had fallen from her hand. Shit.

"Hey," he manages to speak, making her head tilt unexpectedly. "Did you slip, are – you alright?"

He watches as her eyes open, unfocused and glassy hazel pupils that stare into some random spot. There are silent tears streaming down her rosy cheeks, making his lungs tighten up at the sight of someone crying like this.

Her hand constantly rubs over her ankle, making his eyebrows gather in concern.

"Ma'am?" he questions again. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

The woman shakes her head and presses her lips into a thin line, breathing heavily through her nose. "No, thanks, I'm fine."

Her eyes are downcast, looking at the ground when he opens his mouth to say something again, but she speaks first.

"Actually, there is something else you might want to help me out with?"

"Of course, whatever it is." He simply answers, his heart racing at the thought of helping to this woman. It's creeping the shit out of him how this stranger could ask him for anything and he would do it without any second thoughts. She's like a magnet.

"I – uh," the miserable look on her face changes into something else, a touch of pink kisses her cheeks, making her look even more beauteous. "When I slipped on the ice, I lost my stick that helps me to, uh, it helps me to not bump or stumble over things."

His eyes immediately spot the white cane, extending his hand to reach it and place it gently in her warm, soft hand.

"Here." He says warmly, watching as her fingers wrap around the stick, holding it tightly as if she's making sure it's not going to slip out of her hand this time.

Her eyes never meet his, but her head lifts up a bit in gratitude.

"Thanks." He hears her full of shyness voice, making the corners of his mouth curve up into a thin smile.

"S'not a problem." He replies, feeling his knees go numb under the ice. He could tell she's freezing, by the way, her body trembles. "Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No, it's fine." She mumbles, her teeth gritting from the cold. "I would need some help to stand up, though. If you could-" She asks, her voice full of uncertainty.

"Yeah, sure." He quickly jumps into action to step by her side, crouching. "Wrap your arm over my shoulder." She does as he tells, finding where he is by following the sound of his voice, wrapping her arm around his broad shoulders.

He whispers a small "Okay, good," and slowly stands, allowing the injured woman to support herself with her good leg. Meanwhile, he's supporting her weight on the side with the injury and holding her soft hand around his own shoulders. His other hand around her waist.

She wobbles a little on the ice, almost slipping again, but this time, he's at her side helping her balance as she hops to safety.

"Where do you want me to take you?" He manages to ask, watching as her face brightens in surprise, but then it quickly vanishes, turning into an embarrassment.

"Actually, it's a bit silly, but I'm-," He watches her as she bites the inside of her cheek concentrating on how to form her words. "I was actually a little lost around here since I'm not able to see. So I really don't know where I'm right now or how to go back at home."

His heart clenches once again in sympathy for this woman whom he'd just met, because of the difficult and unpleasant situation she's fallen into.

He doesn't even want to think how anxious she must've felt when she realized that she was lost, not capable of finding her way back to home. Even if she asked for someone's help they wouldn't have paid attention or seek out for help. Thank God, he was there.

"It's going to be fine." He tightens his arm securely around her waist, making sure she's standing steadily on her one leg. "I'm going to help you get home, you just have to trust me enough to tell me your address."

She really doesn't have any choice.

He helps the woman to get in the cab, easing her down gently into the back seats, settling himself next to her.

Her ankle throbs with pain, but she manages to keep a straight face on, trying to hide her discomfiture by burying her face in her hands. "I'm really sorry."

His eyebrows gather in confusion, looking down at the woman's hunched shoulders and curved spine. "What for?"

He still doesn't know her name.

"For bringing you into this mess," she mumbles. "For ruining whatever plans you had or,"

"Hey, no, it's fine. Honestly, I had nothing important to do. I'm actually glad that I was helpful." And that I met you.

"You really were." The corners of her mouth lift up into a tiny smile, her white teeth showing underneath. "I'm just never going out alone, again. It was a big, fat mistake. I don't even know how I got so far from home."

"Why were you alone, though?" He asks with a bit of curiosity bubbling inside him. Doesn't she have a boyfriend?

"I, well, my dad has a really busy schedule at work today, so he wouldn't be able to come home very soon. I thought it'd be fine if I manage to go out by myself and try to walk and not stumble without someone's help, but I guess I was wrong." The lines of her face form into a deep frown, her teeth grazing over her bottom lip.

"Listen -,"

"Kate." She spells out her name for him.

"Kate," He nods, repeating the name over and over inside of his head. Damn, what is it with him today? "It's completely normal to want to go out for a walk. Especially by your own self without feeling obliged to have other people with you."

"I just don't want to make my dad deal with this," she sighs tiredly. "I want to be capable of doing things by myself."

He doesn't know how to comfort the saddened woman, but somehow he knows that she'll find a way to figure things out. There's some hidden bravery behind the lids of her eyes. The urgency to do things on her own is really big, so he just knows.

He's captivated by a stranger.

The car makes a shrill sound when the driver hits the brakes to stop the cab in front of what seems to be her apartment building-and seriously how did she get so far from her home?

She protests when he pays to the driver, but he quickly waves her off, opening the car door to help her step out of the vehicle.

His arm finds its way around her waist once again as they walk together towards the entrance of the building. She's jumping on her good foot, balancing with the help of a sweet man who abandoned whatever plans he had to help a miserable woman.

"Is your father at home?" He asks, feeling a little anxious about the fact that she's unable to see and on top of that she has sprained ankle.

"No, why?" She replies, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, I just thought – isn't it going to be hard for you to be on your own with the injury and all?"

"Oh, no, it's fine. I have a first aid kit at home, I'll manage."

"Are you sure?" He's really being anxious now, but can anyone blame him? He can't just leave her like that. "Look, I don't mean to intrude, but are you capable of – handling this on your own?" He really tries to not use the word 'blind' and ask smoothly about her ability to cope, but she somehow figures out what he meant and smirks.

"You know that a blind person is not as blind as you would think?" She asks playfully, her breath hitching at every little jump she makes to move forward.

"I didn't mean to-," She's noticed that he's a little tense beside her, so she just lets a giggle escape her mouth and shakes her head at how easily frightened this guy is.

"I know you don't, I'm just saying that I'll be fine and you don't need to be worried about my capabilities."

He bobs his head at her even though she can't see him as they reach the doors leading to the lobby. She's somehow sensing they are here, stepping aside from him, to hop on her good foot and support her weight with the door.

It's funny how he's become fully committed and amazed by the beauty of this woman that he'd just met. He barely knows her, she's a stranger, but he's already wishing he could learn more and more about her. The only thing he learned is her name.

It's a start.

"You seem like a pretty tough and strong woman, Kate."

She doesn't know what made him say these words, but for some unknown reason, they brought a smile to her face.

"Thank you,"

"Rick." He adds, grinning now that he finally told her his name.

"Rick," Kate repeats the syllables of his name with a small grin forming at the corners of her mouth, her eyes on his chest not seeing him, but full of glowing gratitude. "Oh, and Rick, I should probably thank you for helping me. I owe you and if there's anything I could do to-,"

"Don't be silly, it's my pleasure to help. You don't owe me anything." He replies reassuringly.

Kate wishes so much she could see at least a little glimpse of his face. The only thing that she knows about him is that his hands are really strong and soft at the same time, that his voice is rich and full of assurance and kindness.

"You can navigate to your apartment, right?" He has to make sure.

"Yeah, yeah." She's nodding her head, turning around to get inside when his arm stretches out to catch her by the elbow.

"Hey, I – eh, wait." He's scratching at his scalp, wondering how to say it to not make it sound presumptuous. "I know we probably don't know each other and it might be a little awkward for you, but would you like to – eh, hang out sometime?"

Her lips press into a thin line, her eyebrows knitting in confusion, which – oh no that isn't a good sign.

She closes her eyes for a second to gather her thoughts, wetting her lips before speaking. "Listen, Rick, you seem like a really good guy and I'm really grateful that I met you, but-"

Oh, no. There's a 'but'.

"I'm not really in a place where I can go out on dates. It's just not the right time for me to be in a relationship-"

"Wait, no," he cuts her off gently, placing a hand on her arm for reassurance, quickly bringing it back to his side when her whole body tenses at the unexpected touch.

"I didn't mean it like that," he lets out a little, nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just wanted to say that if you ever get into a similar situation as today and your father is working, you can always call me and I can walk you around the city. It's just a suggestion, you can decline if you want to."

"That's really sweet of you," There's a little grin forming across her face, making him wish he could spend more time with this woman and discover what other things makes her smile. "But I'll have to decline, I don't want you to waste your time babysitting a blind woman."

Whoa, did she really thought of herself as a blind person and nothing more?

"It would be anything, but a waste of time, Kate. It's just going to be a friendly walk, nothing more. We'll just get to know each other and eat some ice-cream."

Her body shivers at the mention of ice-cream, adjusting her scarf more tightly around her neck. "I'm not sure about the ice-cream."

"Hot chocolate then." Rick replies, grinning. "C'mon it'll be fun."

He almost misses the eye roll she does, acting as if she's annoyed. There's a pregnant silence hanging in the air between them, her eyes narrowing.

"Okay, here's my number, write it down before I change my mind." She jokes and he pulls out his phone to write down Kate's number, memorizing it in his iPhone.

TBC

Thoughts?