First of all: I don't own Castle or any of it's characters. Although I would love to, because there wouldn't be hiatus then.

This is my first Castle fanfiction and English is not my first language. But feel free to review honestly or write me a message if you want me to answer.

It takes place at the end of season 4, so Kate and Rick aren't together yet.

Thank you, Katherine Houghton Beckett, for editing.

Chapter 1 – At the bookstore

"For Sarah, please", the young, blonde girl asked, handing him a copy of his book "Heat Rises" and looking at him as if he was her greatest idol. Richard Castle smiled at her and signed the book. The girl reminded him of Alexis somehow. She was the last of a several hundred fans who had come to this event and Castle felt very tired and his right hand hurt from all the signing. He stood up and strechted himself.

"Any plans for tonight?", a familiar female voice asked from behind him. " He slowly turned around to face his blonde ex-wife.

"I will go home and get some rest, Gina. And so should you." Gina looked at him disappointed. She still hoped that he would give her another chance but every time they tried it just didn't work. This time she was completely sure that she knew the reason.

"It's because of her, isn't it?", she asked, emphasizing the "her" as if she was talking about some poisonous animal.

Castle made a funny face: "I don't know who you are talking about. Let's get out of here. It's late and everybody is gone but us."

Of course he knew that she was talking about Kate Beckett; his extremely beautiful and smart partner and friend but he would rather bite off his tongue than telling his ex-wife about his feelings for Beckett.

"I don't think you...", Gina tried to answer but they were interupted by a loud shot outside the building.

"Stay here", Castle told Gina and while slowly walking towards the exit he dialled Becketts' number.

"Beckett?", her voice sounded tired as if she had already been asleep but as always Castle's heart skipped a beat when he heard it.

"Hey Beckett, it's me. I hope I didn't wake you. I'm at the bookstore on 65th street and there was a shot outside. I'm not sure yet what happened but maybe you should come."

"I was still up, just relaxing on the couch reading you...ah a book. I will be there in 10", Kate replied, knowing that Castle wouldn't have called her about this if it was nothing serious. She had just started reading "Naked Heat" for the fifth time and she had almost admitted this to him. Every time she read this book she pictured herself as Nikki Heat and Castle as Jameson Rook. Sometimes she thought she was only one little step away to get it on with him. She was sure that she just had to give him a sign and they could be more than just friends and partners. But she was too afraid to let love be the most important thing in her life. She had to solve her mother's murder first. When she had told Castle about her walls and that she wasn't ready yet, he had been very sweet and understanding but she was sure that he wouldn't wait for her forever. Every time another woman came too close to him she got extremely jealous and she couldn't help it. In her mind he was already her Rick and she didn't want to share him. But she didn't want to ruin their great friendship that had developed during the past four years either. So everytime there could have happened more she had backed off.

"Just stay where you are and try to stay out of trouble", she added quickly with a hint of concern in her voice. She hoped that he would for once take her advice but she knew that she had to hurry. She had always felt this need to protect him but at the same time she had always felt safe when he was with her.

"Ok, Beckett, I will...", Rick answered when suddenly Kate heard another shot and a sharp scream.

"Rick? What was that? What happened?", she asked, trying to hide the growing panic. When there was no answer and the phone went dead, Kate started running. She ran into a neighbor and almost fell down the stairs. When she reached her car, she tried to calm down. Her heart was racing and her hands were shaking. What if something bad had just happened to Rick? She still hadn't told him how she felt and that she could remember him telling her that he loved her after she got shot. In this moment Kate was absolutely sure that she loved him, too. She loved him more than anyone else in her entire life. She couldn't fight the tears that started to build up in her eyes. She had to save him. She needed to tell him how she felt because she couldn't go on like this anymore. She wanted to be with him, be his girlfriend, his one and done.

She arrived at the bookstore within 5 minutes. She had managed to call for backup but her colleagues would take 30 minutes and she knew she couldn't wait for them.

Kate jumped out of the car. The first thing she saw was the dead body of a young, blonde woman lying in front of the store in a puddle of blood. She had a nasty shotwound in her forehead. Kate swallowed and then tried to enter the bookstore. But the door wouldn't open. Either it was locked or blocked by something. Kate pulled her gun from the holster and walked to the back of the store to see if there was a back entrance. When she found it she was almost too afraid to go inside. She took a deep breath and pulled at the doorhandle.

The door wasn't locked.

Kate went inside. It was dark and she had to turn her Maglite on. Her weapon in one hand and the flashlight in the other she walked through the store. Her heart was racing and every muscle in her body was tense. When she finally saw him, her worst nightmare came true...

TO BE CONTINUED

So, I know it is mean to end with a cliffhanger but hey, you got to keep it interesting. ;p

Please r&r. I would love to know if you want me to go on.