A/N: I've been working on this one for awhile and while I still have a ways to go before it is done (and even a 4-week medical leave didn't get me writing as much as I had hoped), I wanted to start posting it. I hope to update every week or so. This was inspired by stories I've heard from my own job at a library.

Balancing a glazed French cruller and a cup of café au lait on top of a stack of books while trying to unlock and disarm the back door of the building was proving to be more challenging than Richard Castle had envisioned. He was going to get an earful from Mrs. Lancaster if he needed to go back to the Scarlet Latte for a new coffee; she had only been nagging him about getting a book bag, that her little coffee shop happened to sell, for the last six months. After successfully gaining access to the building, Rick weaved his way through the book stacks to the staff workroom tucked into the northwest corner of Hawthorne's only library.

Flicking on the lights to his office, Rick finally laid the books on his antique desk so he could enjoy his delicious, yet not very nutritious breakfast. While his computer booted up for the day, Rick swiveled back and forth in his office chair as he devoured the doughnut. The building wasn't due to open for another hour, so Rick took the time to enjoy the quiet before his employees arrived, followed by the regular library patrons of Hawthorne. Being a former Manhattanite living in a small town was a big adjustment for him and his then seven-year-old daughter. Everyone and everything in New York moved at the speed of a jackrabbit with a caffeine addiction while in Hawthorne you were lucky to get your mail before noon because the postal workers, Harriet, Pete and Ollie, stopped to chat with everyone they encountered.

Nearly seven years of being the head librarian at the small town library, Rick had grown to accept the sloth-like pace that ran the town. He just wished his computer didn't follow the same philosophy. When his desktop screen finally loaded, Rick checked his inbox for any emails he may have received since he was gone over the weekend. An email from the mayor caught his attention immediately.

Rick,

As I have discussed with you previously the expansion we have planned for the Hawthorne Library is set to begin in the next week. I have mentioned that the city council was considering hiring another head librarian to help with the transition and I'm pleased to say that they have unanimously agreed to bring another librarian to the team. I have already interviewed a few excellent candidates and I believe I have found the perfect co-head-librarian to make the transition to the newer and larger library as seamless as possible. I hope you will agree with my selection and welcome her to our little town of Hawthorne, as she, just like you, is from the city. Her name is Katherine Beckett and she will be here on Wednesday, so I hope you will help us make her feel at home.

Mayor Robert Weldon

"Seriously, Bob? Thanks for the advanced notice," Rick mumbled to himself. "Not only is she vying for my job, I have no idea if I'll even like her."

"Talking to yourself again, Boss?"

Rick spun around in his chair by the unexpected voice. His widened eyes warming with recognition as he smiled at his most loyal employee, Wilhelmina Bates, whose eccentricities and affinity for brightly colored clothing reminded him of his mother and as such was often Rick's advisor. "I'm disappointed in you, Willie. It's 20 minutes before you are scheduled to be here. I've never seen you so late before!"

Willie smirked and gave him a pointed glare over her bifocals. "So who are you not sure you'll like?"

"The mayor hired a second head librarian to help us transition into the new building. I would have preferred to have met her before she was actually hired."

"She? This isn't going to turn into another 'Loreen the children's librarian' situation, is it?" Willie crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorway.

"I'll have you know the 'Loreen the children's librarian' situation was not really my fault. Not all women can handle being turned down by Hawthorne's Sexiest Head Librarian."

Willie snorted out a laugh, pushed herself upright and called out while exiting Rick's office, "All right, Boss, you can keep thinking that. I'll just go work on the schedule for the day."

Stacking the last box of her belongings in the back of a rented U-Haul trailer left Kate Beckett feeling like her heart was weighed down. She was going to miss New York City, the only home she had ever known, but when life threw her a curve ball she decided to quit the game, or at least play the game in a different city. Taking one last look at the tall building that held her former apartment, she tried to remain stoic and threatened any tears that wished to escape from her eyes.

Leaving Manhattan was for the best. There weren't any bad memories in the town of Hawthorne, in fact there weren't any memories because she'd never been there not even to interview for her new job. She didn't know what she was going to discover when she finally rolled up to her new home in the city of five thousand people, but it couldn't be as bad as what she was leaving behind.

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