Hi Castle Fandom! How are you guys? So I've been a Bones writer for a while now and I thought I'd test the castle waters. So this is going to be a collection of one shots about some of my favorite characters. First up is a series of snipets based on the promo for the up coming episode.

It's pretty simple I don't own any television shows Castle included.

Hold On

She's burning. The sound of the gunshot tearing right through the freshly heeled scar. She closes her eyes griping her side taking a deep breath trying to focus on the here and now. Not the phantom pain in her side at the mere mention of a sniper. "Kate?" His voice comes softly from beside her.

The others had gone on towards the crime scene, seemingly unaware that she'd been momentarily crippled by her own subconscious. But not him. He never misses a moment that man, every thought that flickers on her face he catches and she doesn't know if it's one of the things she loves or hates about him.

"I'm ok Castle." She opens her eyes looking into his worried ones, "The scar's just pulling in the cold."

He doesn't believe her that much is clear in his face but he lets it go. "Ok. But you'll tell me if you're not?" And it surprises her and stings a little bit that he thinks she wouldn't. But then it's really her own fault. She didn't call him for three months and she still hasn't told him she knows what he said. Because of that he's not sure what he can trust when it comes to her.

It doesn't stop her from just nodding and moving on to the crime scene staunchly ignoring the phantom tearing she feels in her side. If she just ignores it, it will go away.

The noise jolts her from the trance she'd fallen into staring at the paper work spread out across her coffee table. Gun fire. Frozen for just a second before she's flying into action. Yanking the curtains closed as fast as possible with on hand the other clutching at her side trying to staunch the blood flow.

For hours she huddled in a corner clutching her gun with her right hand, her left holding together the gaping hole in her side where it felt like everything was pouring out. She staved off tears out of fear that they would cloud her vision.

The ring tone he'd programmed in her phone for when she'd been doing paperwork. It was some obnoxious whistling and normally it made her smile. In that moment it caused her to freeze briefly breaking the tension she'd built up in her head. Unfolding herself from the corner she took a deep breath, coming back to herself pushing her hair back out of the way. "Beckett." She managed to answer.

There was a cautious pause on the other end, "You okay?"

"What's up Castle?" She asks instilling as much authority into her voice as she can after a night huddled in a corner afraid of ghosts.

The caution is still there, "The boys came up with some leads."

She's silent as she looks around the apartment and the horror of the scene when she'd hidden in fear. "I'll be in 20."

"Kate." It wasn't really a question. "Tell me?"

She sighed desperately wishing she could tell herself what was wrong. "Twenty minutes." She deflected.

She was drowning. That had to be it. Why else couldn't she breathe? The world was closing in around her. Her vision tunneling on her as she took sharp shallow breaths. Tears were running down her cheeks as she collapsed. Her side felt like was ripped open again and no one was there to save her.

Nothing had triggered it. A fleeting thought of her mother and suddenly her life was being drained from her. Her insides literally on display for everyone as she collapsed with the force of the bullet.

The sobs shook her and there was no end in sight as she sat there on the floor holding what she believed to be pieces of her body together. She didn't hear his panic cries when he came round the corner, "Beckett! Kate!" All she could hear were the screams of the cemetery behind his declaration, which kept looping in her head. But she couldn't return the word because she was dead. She'd been shot.

She didn't notice the arms lifting her off the ground wrapping around her collapsed shaking frame, to carry her inside the room. She was bleeding and couldn't do anything about it.

"Kate you're ok. They got him. I'm right here. Nothing's going to happen to you. You're safe. Take deep breaths. Focus on me. You're here. You're alive." He kept muttering above her head just loud enough for her to hear. At first blending into the sound of sirens in the distance and the screams of the cemetery.

But slowly they cut into her mental state chipping away at the terror and pain that had gripped her.

Slowly she came back to herself even though she couldn't stop the sobbing. He was holding her on his lap arms around her holding her together. She'd buried her head into his neck, her fingers wrapping into the soft flannel shirt he was wearing.

She focused on his words, "You're safe. Deep breaths. Focus on me. You're here. You're alive. Kate you're ok. They got him. I'm right here. Nothing's going to happen to you." She focused on the fact that he was solid and warm against her. She focused on the fact that he was there. That he was still there. He must have been holding her for hours. Giving her an anchor to reality.

As her sobs slowed, he grew quieter his reassurances coming more sporadically. But he never let her go he just held on waiting for her to be ready.

"Castle," her voice was hoarse when she finally used it.

"I'm right here."

"Thank you." She whispered not moving.

He didn't move either, "Always." And he just sat there holding her; he didn't ask any questions and didn't talk to her. He just held on.

Well what did you think? Please let me know.

Babyrose