Spoilers for Target/Hunt etc etc. Short but sweet, I suppose?

Disclaimer: IS TARGET ON YET

The airport is crowded, people jostling and pushing and pulling but Kate barges through, not even bothering to throw an apology over her shoulder at the young woman who's trolley she probably just knocked over. She knows where she's heading, the lady at the check-in desk had hurriedly pointed her in the direction of the right gate when Kate had slammed her badge down on the counter. She's not going to stop him, she's not even going to try because if it was her daughter's life on the line she'd be doing the exact same thing. But she just… needs to see him. To reassure herself that he's not going to do anything outrageously stupid. The gate is closing and she's about twenty metres away, screams at the attendant to stop. The young male turns around and Kate doesn't think he even gets a decent look at her badge and she tears past him.

The corridor is full of last minute dawdlers, walking and laughing and completely blocking her way. She growls, and a little old lady turns around and tuts at her. She doesn't answer, but sidles past her, dodges the line of people. And then, she spots the back of his head, the tense set of his shoulders under his leather jacket. "Castle!"

He turns around, surprise flooding his face. He looks back at the plane for a long moment before stepping out of line and moving back towards her. He starts to open his mouth but she doesn't give him time, just thuds into him, arms gripping the back of his leather jacket. People are throwing them curious looks, vague whispers when people start recognising him. "Kate, you can't-"
"I'm not - I'm not asking you to not do this. I'd come with you if I could. I just, I needed…"
He crushes her against his chest, and she can feel the wild beat of his heart against hers, a familiar rhythm that's making her feel sick because what if this is it? What if he goes to France and doesn't come back? "Castle, I-"
"I'll come back. We'll both come back."
One of the attendants is calling out to them, everybody else is on board and Castle really needs to get on the plane or it is going to leave without him and he can't afford to not be on it. "Kate, I've got to go."

"No, yeah. Ring me when you land?"

"Yeah."

Castle squeezes her hand and turns around. Kate watches him go, her lip pulled under her teeth. She wishes she could go with him, for support, just to provide him with a gun, just so he wouldn't have to the spend the long hours on a plane to Paris of all places alone, thinking that his only daughter could be dead, that neither of them might make it back… "Castle! Castle, wait!"

He's in the doorway, and the air hostess is glaring at her but she doesn't care. "I love you."

"Kate-"

"I love you, and I didn't want you to go and with the possibility of you not coming back and you not know. I love you, and I was just – I was too scared to say anything because this thing is huge, and I didn't want you to go and think that this means more to you than it does to me, because it doesn't, and-"

He pushes himself past the half shut door, much to the chagrin of the air hostess and catches her head with his hands, cutting Kate off with the harsh press of his lips against hers.

"I'll come back. We'll both – we'll both come back."

"Castle-"

"We'll come back." He insists, pressing his forehead against hers.

"You don't-"

"Kate, listen to me. We'll come back. I will find Alexis, and I will bring her home."

Kate fists her hands in the lapels of his jacket, wanting nothing more than to just take him home. But she knows she can't, knows that she'd never be able to convince him. Wouldn't be able to convince herself. "Okay, Castle. Okay, bring her home."