Hi! Welcome to "Inescapable", my first Castle fanfic! Before you start reading, let me explain a little about my story. I got this idea a few days ago and decided to actually write it. "Inescapable" starts after the pilot; except unlike the pilot, Castle doesn't end up shadowing Beckett…they just go their separate ways, after she turns his offer to be each other's conquests down. My fic picks up three weeks later, with both of them doing their own thing, when fate/chance/life (whatever you want to call it ) brings them back together, in a fun, unexpected way. I'm not sure how long this story is going to be yet, I've only mapped out the first three chapters, but I guess we'll see where it goes.

Hope you enjoy it! And please let me know what you think! I'm open to all reviews—positive and negative, and will find both helpful.

The lights of the precinct, bright, yet unnatural and shadowy, revealed to Detective Beckett that the day had ended and it was now probably close to nine o'clock at night. Her heels clicked against the floor as she made her way back to her desk with a fresh cup of coffee. Almost everyone else had gone home, aside from the few people at their desks on the other side of the room, finishing up paperwork for the day. Taking a deep breath, she tried to fight her exhaustion, while she sat back down in her chair. Fourteen hours had passed, since she first sat at her desk that day. Raising the mug to her lips, Kate breathed in the comforting aroma of her still-steaming coffee, allowing it to awaken her senses a bit before taking a long sip. She reveled in the tingling sensation of the warm liquid as it slid down her throat, then sat the ceramic mug back on her desk. Grabbing a pen, she continued filling out the rest of the paperwork for the case they had just closed.

The paper before her was asking the same information as the last three she had filled out, and as she wrote the date on a bold line, her hand seemed to work automatically, neatly scribbling in the rest of the necessary information. That's when her thoughts began to shift from the white paper, busy with black lines and letters on it, to the unusual case she, Ryan, and Esposito had just solved. Seriously, the whole thing could have been a novel, it seemed so unrealistic. And yet, it had actually happened. So many cases lately were just beyond belief, and felt like they should be part of a Richard Castle murder mystery, not a real life case. At the sound of his name entering her mind, Kate caught herself and paused her thoughts.

There he was again. Richard Castle. The guy who kept invading her thoughts and wouldn't leave her alone. Even when he wasn't there in the flesh, he still tortured and annoyed her.

It had been three weeks since her favorite author decided to meddle with one of her cases where the killer had recreated scenes from the writer's novels in the murders of a few people, including his own sister. At first, Castle had just seemed like an annoying, egotistical, immature playboy, who was in love with himself and his celebrity. However, to her surprise, he had actually proven to be helpful (not that she would admit that to anyone…ever), but his method of finding the story within the case, led her to finding the right murderer. He could also read people, and had proven that by reading her. The way he saw right through her, made her insecure, almost uncomfortable around him, causing her to feel the need to guard herself, yet there was something about his insight that made her believe there was more to him than his boyish charm and cocky smirk. Could people who see that deeply into others, really be that shallow and superficial? A part of her doubted that they could. Or was it hoped? Hoped that for someone like him the shallowness was all an act. Wait. Why was she doubting and hoping? What difference did it make whether he was human or not? She was never going to see him again.

Ugh! Why was her mind always wandering over to him lately? It had gotten to the point that the last two times she had closed a case, she had had to have Ryan do the paperwork, so her thoughts of Rick Castle wouldn't have time to materialize. Now, she was back at that place where she had to stop her pen as she finished writing Richard instead of the murderer's name, Robert. She groaned, sat back, and ran a hand over her face in frustration. What was wrong with her? Richard Castle was a famous author, ladies man, and millionaire. All they had in common was murder, which wasn't a positive foreshadowing for any friendship or relationship that they could have. It was one of the reasons why she turned down his offer to go out on a date.

All the women wanted him…and he probably never turned them down. She couldn't be in a relationship with someone like that. She didn't want a one night stand. Kate had been over the whole "sleep with someone for the fun of it" for a while now. To be completely honest, she hadn't been looking for anything (one night stands or relationships) for a while. But if something or someone happened to come along, it would have to be forever. Forever didn't seem like Castle's thing. Especially, with two divorces behind him that had made front page news and had been a part of the tabloid gossip for months. So, why was her mind uncontrollably floating back to him every time it wasn't occupied with trying to figure out a murder? Part of her wanted the answer, the other didn't.

She sighed, and massaged her temples, feeling the tension that was sure to cause a headache. All of the thoughts that were swirling in her head had to be pushed away. There was no time for her to think about these pointless questions. Her fingers moved in circles until she could feel the pressure breaking up, and the fragments of what she had been thinking, fading away. After a few moments, she felt her mine cleared of all things Castle, and decided to finish adding the rest of the information to the paper in front of her. Then, she was calling it a night and going home to relax.

"Let me get this straight?" Richard Castle spoke gruffly into his phone. "You're going to give me some random woman's name and phone number, and I'm supposed to call her up and invite her on a date?" The question, filled with irritation and disbelief was posed to his ex-wife on the other end. Her no nonsense voice responded, "That's right," and he could just picture the authoritative stare she was giving him, while tossing her bleached hair over her shoulder. As he was about to object her voice cut in sounding a little less formal. "Look, Rick, we both know you're not one to turn a beautiful woman down…or a hot tramp either for that matter…"

"Maybe not," He admitted honestly. "But how do you know if the woman you're telling me to call isn't ugly, or a grandma, or some psychotic fan? Hell, how do you know if they're even really a woman?" Castle sounded worried, almost scared, as he shuddered at the thought of being set up on a date with some masked killer. Then, the image of some creepy, old cat lady, who developed some obsession with his books, since she hadn't left the house in thirty years, appeared in his wildly imaginative mind. He could see her now, fur clinging to her dress that she should have stopped wearing decades ago, her mostly gray hair messy with curls loose and wild on her head, and the discolored dentures that would smile at him as she tried to invade his personal space. "Gina, there is no way—"

She cut him off. "Oh there's a way. You're going to do this. It was in the contract that you signed. The one you should obviously have read, instead of handing it right to your lawyer. This whole "Win a date with Richard Castle" contest boosted your book sales by at least a few hundred thousand copies. You have to follow through."

Rick sighed, defeated. Gina heard it, and for a minute the part of her that still cared for him felt a little sympathy. "How about this, I'll go through the names, and we'll pick someone you know?"

"That's not right," He exhaled. "We should be fair."

"Rick, I'm trying to make this easier on you." She said tensely into the phone.

"I know," She could hear the grateful tone in his voice. "I just…I know what it's like to be a fan…have an idol or whatever." They stopped speaking, while he thought it over. "They could submit their name more than once, right?"

"Yes. Each book came with one entry card, but you could buy as many books as you wanted, and enter as many times as you wanted."

A silence came over them again, until he exhaled loudly. "Ok. Give me the name of the person with the most submissions."

Rick heard her hesitate, and felt a little agitated. He just wanted the call to be over. "What is it, Gina?"

"I'm not trying to say you're stupid, but wouldn't the person with the most entries, be the most obsessive?" She waited, so he could grasp what she had said, then continued. "If you're looking for someone normal, shouldn't we pick someone who doesn't look desperate?"

This was one of those times where he wished he didn't work for his ex-wife. What she was saying made complete sense, but because all he wanted to do was hang up on her and his pride wouldn't let him take her advice he said, "Just give me the damn number."

Using the hand that wasn't holding his cell phone, he crossed his fingers, then, closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

Kate heard the sound of her phone going off in her coat pocket as she turned the key to let herself into her apartment. After rushing to put her things down, she pulled out her buzzing phone, and held it to her ear. "Beckett."

Nothing, but silence answered her. "Hello? Who is this?" Still silence. "Okay. Well, whoever this is, you should get a life. Prank calling was so fifth grade." She ended the call, and then decided to check her calls to see if she recognized the number. It didn't take long for her jaw to drop when the most recent call on the list was a name, not a number. Before she could think to stop herself, she was calling it back. "Castle?"

Castle's fingers dialed the numbers that he had jotted down, while Gina had read them off to him. With a shaking hand and some reluctance, he finally commanded his phone to call the person that belonged to the phone number he had typed in. There was nothing he could do now except wait, as he listened to it buzz, and waited for the creepy cat lady, crazed killer, or sexiest woman alive to answer. All he could do was hope that it was the latter.

"Beckett." Castle heard her familiar voice through the phone. A voice he hadn't heard in three weeks, but one that had remained present in his mind, since the last time they saw each other. The unexpected sound of her voice made him freeze. The thought that the Kate he had scribbled down the number of, while Gina recited it to him, could be Detective Kate Beckett had not even crossed his mind. Sure, he knew she was a fan, even though she would never willingly admit it, but she just never struck him as someone who would enter herself in a contest like this. "Hello? Who is this?" He heard her speaking, and knew he should answer, but for the first time in his life, he was at a loss for words. Kate Beckett was talking to him. Right now. To him.

After they had parted ways, he never thought he'd ever hear her voice again. Not that he didn't want to. After all, he had tried to get her to go on a date with him, the last time they were together. But he just couldn't believe that fate had acted in this way.

He half heard her reprimanding him about prank calling, and was finally able to utter a "Hey" into the phone, when he noticed she was no longer on the other end. "Damn!" He cursed into the emptiness of his home office. Castle barely had time to think about his next move when he felt his phone vibrate in his hand. "Castle?" Beckett's voice was filled with disbelief and confusion as it came through the phone.

"Beckett. Hi!" He was trying his best to sound casual, but his nerves could be heard with the unnatural high pitch of his two-word greeting.

"Hi? What the hell, Castle? Why didn't you answer me before?" He could hear the annoyance in her voice, and just like with Gina, he could picture the glare she was giving him through the phone. He could always sense when a woman was glaring at him. Probably because he had grown up with Martha Rodgers for a mother. "Better yet, why did you even call me?"

"Beckett—" He started, but she didn't let him say anything else before interrupting.

"No, wait. Let me guess. Your inner child thought it would be fun to prank call a cop?"

"Very funny, detective." He said sarcastically. "Actually, I'm calling because it seems you've won a date with your's truly through a little contest my publishing company had." Her heart skipped a beat at his words, and anything she was going to say left her mind. "I must admit, I didn't take you as the type to enter such a contest, but I'm flattered that you did. Although, you are aware that you didn't have to enter a contest to get a date with me, right? I mean, all you had to do was ask, or say that you changed your mind."

The charming, cocky voice at the end finished his ramble, only to leave her dumbfounded. She had won a date with him. How? She didn't enter that contest. Her entry card was still safe in the book he had given her an advanced copy of. If he wanted, she could show it to him for proof. And speaking of things he wanted, she could hear it in his voice that he still wanted a date with her. She felt herself tremble at that realization, but then recognized her foolishness and rolled her eyes. What was it about him that made her act so…weird?

"Sorry, Castle, but I didn't enter myself in that contest. I also haven't changed my mind. I'm not interested in a date with you. So, it was great to hear from you, but I have to go."

A sinking, disappointed feeling filled his stomach at the sincerity of her words. There was just something about a date with Beckett that sounded so appealing. Not to mention, she was normal, beautiful, and someone he knew he'd have a good time with, not some loony old hag. "Kate, wait." He pleaded into his phone.

She hesitated at his saying her first name, but knew she couldn't give into his desperate sounding voice, no matter how much she wanted to. "Sorry, Castle. Gotta go. Bye."

Silence. She hung up on him…well, this time. But of course, he would never just give up. So, he called her again, but it went straight to her voicemail. He tried at least a dozen more times over the next two hours, but she never picked up. "Come on, Kate." He said through gritted teeth. When she didn't answer his final call, he went to put on his shoes. A quick text was sent to Captain Montgomery begging for Kate's address, saying he needed to get in touch with her, and she wasn't answering her phone. Montgomery's reply came a few seconds later: If you ever tell her where you got this from, there won't be anymore novels by Richard Castle. Rick smiled triumphantly to himself. He speedily sent a 'thank you' to Montgomery, as he raced out into the hallway. Castle couldn't get on the elevator fast enough. Maybe it was how easily she turned him down, or the fact that she was the only woman, outside his family, that hadn't tried to get him in bed the first time they had met. Whatever it was, it made him determined. Kate Beckett was different. She wasn't like the others, and he came to the conclusion that that was why he hadn't been able to get her off his mind for three weeks.