Hi everyone! I recently got very, very, VERY obsessed with Castle, so I decided that I want to write a Castle fanfic. To be honest, I have four ideas running around in my head and three in the works, so expect some Castle goodness from me in the near future. This is my first, so be nice.

I was watching Setup and Countdown today and felt that this needed to be written. Unlike other stories that I've seen like this one, I'm not having Josh out of the picture in the first chapter. Trust me, I hate him as much as the next person, but I feel that Kate wouldn't be so quick to pushing him to the curb, especially after he didn't go to Haiti. Unfortunately, he'll be here for a couple chapters.

Also...this will be AU after Setup and Countdown, simply because I don't really want to deal with everything that happens in the To Love and Die in LA and Knockout. Sorry! (Who's excited for September 19th?)

While most of my other Castle fics that I have in my head are case based, this one will be fluffy, with little case involvement. I will try to keep it as in character as possible. Also, I know now that I will probably end it when they get together - sorry folks who like Castle and Beckett married or with children, but I can't imagine them like that - hell, I can hardly imagine them together. So...I feel that I've rambled enough, so without further ado, I give you the first chapter of my new story.

Disclaimer: I am the proud owner of Castle Season 1 DVD and Heat Wave, but I do not own Castle or any of the characters. They belong to Andrew W Marlowe and ABC. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 1

Kate unlocked the door of her apartment. Her day had been crazy. No, that would be an understatement. In the course of little over 24 hours, she had been exposed to high levels of radiation, nearly frozen to death, and faced a dirty bomb as the counter counted down from 00:01:51. Every muscle ached and she still had an oppressive cold feeling deep in her bones. Her head felt as though someone was pushing on the inside of her eyes. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep.

"What do you want to do tonight?" asked Josh. She had forgotten he was there, watching her open her apartment.

"I kind of just want to go to sleep," she answered wearily.

"Come on, I didn't go to Haiti for you. Can we at least watch a movie?" He attempted to pull her into his arms. She fought away, feeling suffocated.

"No Josh, I just want to take a warm bath and go to sleep."

"Fine," he said, raising his arms in the universal sign for 'I'm innocent'. "Go take a bath; I'll be here when you get out."

Kate was too tired to fight. She didn't want him there. She wanted to be alone. No, she wanted to be with—

Stop it, Kate! You can't be thinking that. Josh came back because of you. You owe it to him to give him a chance.

Kate sighed heavily. She drew a hot bath and poured in the cherry scented bubble bath. She lit the candles and slid into the enveloping warmth. It was the first time she had felt warm since before they got stuck in the freezer – except when she gave him a hug after he diffused the bomb.

She refused to think his name. She knew that if she did, then all thoughts of possibly fixing things with Josh would be thrown out the window. Rather than continuing to dwell on her near death experiences of the day, she focused on inhaling and exhaling. Kate closed her eyes, rested her head on the tub and before she knew it, she was asleep.

A knocking on the door jerked her awake. She cursed silently when she heard the distinct sloshing of water as it hit the tile.

"Kate, are you okay?" called a voice.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. I just fell asleep. I'll be out in a minute," she called back. She listened as the footsteps retreated. The water had gone cold, so she stepped out and wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel. She dried her hair the best she could and stepped into her bedroom.

"Hi sweetie," said a voice from her bed.

"Josh!" she cried, nearly dropping the towel. "What are you doing here?"

"I said I'd be waiting for you when got out," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Yeah, waiting out there," she said, getting angrier by the minute. "Not in my bedroom."

"Katie," he began.

"No. Go wait in the living room. I'll be out in a minute."

She turned her back to him while he sulked out. Kate let out a large puff of air, trying to collect herself. She pulled on a pair of sweats and an old NYPD t-shirt with a sweatshirt that used to be her mother's. She rubbed her hair one more time and put it up in a messy bun. She put on her mother's ring and her father's watch, knowing that she'd need their support for the inevitable fight waiting for her on the other side of her door.

Right as she was reaching for the door knob, her phone buzzed. She knew it wasn't the precinct – Montgomery had given them all the next day off. And for the rest of the week, they were on call, only having to go into the precinct if a body dropped and all three of the other homicide teams were working on cases.

Kate looked at the ID and saw that Castle had texted her. She opened her phone and read his text.

Hope you're drinking some hot cocoa. I am. Stay warm and sweet dreams. Don't forget that you can call me if you have trouble sleeping or just need someone to talk to. –RC

She smiled to herself, gently biting on her thumb nail. It was a bad habit that she developed when she was a teenager, and no matter what her parents did, she couldn't break it. She snapped open the keyboard and sent a quick reply.

I'm going to make some now. Thanks for everything. –KB

Almost instantly, her phone buzzed.

No problem. Sleep tight. –RC

She sat on her bed, mentally preparing herself for whatever was waiting.

"Kate, is everything okay?" Josh asked, rushing to her as soon as she walked out of her room.

"Everything's fine," she said, not quite meeting his eyes. He tried to stand in her way, but she pushed by him to get to the kitchen. She really wanted that hot cocoa.

"Don't lie to me, Kate. I know something happened today. You're different tonight." He turned to follow her through her apartment.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, rounding on him.

"It means that I know your job takes a toll on you, but honestly Katie, this is worse than usual. What was so special about this case?"

She covered her face with her hands, praying for patience. "Josh, I can't deal with this now. I had a really long and tough day. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"No, Kate, we can't. You're always running. I know nothing about your work, other than the fact that you're a cop, you have crazy hours, and it takes an emotional and physical toll on you sometimes. Don't you trust me?"

"I do, but—"

"But what?"

"Josh, I can't tell you. The case we've been working on for the past few days…it's…it's just not information that I can reveal to the public."

"Yet he knows about it," said Josh impatiently.

"Of course he knows about it, he's my partner."

"Are you sure that's all you are? Because when we saved you from that freezer, all he could ask for was you. When I came to the precinct, you two looked pretty friendly."

"You wanna know why? Because he is my friend. I went to hell and back today, Josh, multiple times, and I don't need you to be interrogating me about it," she yelled.

"Hell and back, eh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I told you, I can't tell you!"

"Please, Kate, you two were stuck in a freezer for crying out loud. You cannot tell me that that is normal cop behavior!"

"Josh, stop. Now," she demanded, putting on her best cop voice. She saw Josh's eyes flicker with something she'd never seen before. For a moment, he had looked honestly scared of her. Good, maybe I can intimidate him into letting the matter drop. No, stop! Those aren't thoughts that are going to get you guys back on track. Stay focused, Kate.

"Katie," he began, his tone changing drastically from screaming at the top of his lungs to eerily calm. "I didn't go to Haiti for you. I deserve to know what you were up to."

Kate took a deep breath, and she too, began in a calm voice – almost too calm. "Josh. I have a dangerous job. It is my duty to solve these murders. Those family members? They deserve to know why their loved one was taken from them. Sometimes in doing so, it takes me places that I could never imagine. Sometimes I stand face to face with death.

"You? You bring people back from the brink of death. You give people a second shot at living. But me? I speak for the dead. Once they're gone, we're all they have left. I have to bring them justice."

"I'm sorry," he said, taking a tentative step closer to her.

"It's okay. Just, please, it's late and I've had a hell of a day. I want to go to sleep."

"Fine, do you want me to stay?"

She took a deep breath. She didn't really want him to stay, but if she was going to give their relationship another shot, then it was the right thing to do.

"Sure," she said, already regretting her decision.

Knowing the fight was over for the moment, Kate brought Josh back to her room. They lay in her bed, her on the left, and him on the right. Kate burrowed into the plush pillows and felt her eyes get heavy. Within minutes, she was asleep.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Castle! Get out! Get out!" she is yelling.

"What?" he is asking, looking scared.

"GO!" she is screaming at him.

"Why? Look, I don't—"

She is dropping her flashlight and running to the exit. She is pulling on the garage type door of the storage unit, still yelling at her companion to run.

"Castle, back away from the door! Get away!"

"What's going on? What is that thing?" he is asking. She is looking at him frantically, pleading with her eyes that he will continue to run. She is pulling a phone from her pocket and dialing quickly.

"This is Detective Kate Beckett, badge number 0334! I've been exposed to high levels of radiation. We need emergency services right away!" She is yelling into her phone, her voice is getting horse with concern. He is looking at her scared.

The scene is blending into a cold, white fog, and is clearing as soon as it came.

She is feeling cold. And numb. She is sitting, curled up in her partner's arms, shivering, trying desperately to stay awake and conscious.

She is saying something – she does not even know what she is saying. Her brain is not functioning, and before she knows it, everything goes black.

There is white fog everywhere and when it is clearing, she is looking straight into three containers of cerulean liquid, one can of yellow radioactive material, a counter, and a helluva lot of wires. Her partner is grabbing her hand, holding it in a death grip. She wants to tell him that she loves him. She wants to tell him everything that she couldn't because the HAZMAT people interrupted them. Instead, she is turning her head back to the bomb in front of her. She and her companion are watching as the red LED numbers are ticking down steadily. They are watching as it is turning to 00:00:00. A split second is passing before a tremendous BOOM!

Everything is disappearing in a flash of light.

"NO!" Kate screamed, sitting up straight. She looked around, frantically, trying to figure out where she was. She took a deep breath. It was only a dream, Kate. Only a dream. You're safe. You're in bed. She thought to herself, trying to calm her racing heart. She wiped sweat from her brow and looked around, searching for Josh. He must have slipped out during the night. She reached with shaking fingers to her phone, which was sitting on her nightstand. She flipped open and was surprised to see that she had a message. The time stamp said that it had come at 1:35AM. She looked at her clock and saw that it was 2:13AM.

I can't sleep. If you're up, can you give me a call? I just want to make sure you're all right. –RC

She smiled slightly at his concern. Considering that it was about forty-five minutes since he had sent that text, she messaged him a short one.

I'm up. You wanted to talk? –KB

Instead of another message, her phone buzzed, showing that Castle was calling her.

"Hi," she greeted.

"Hey. I just wanted to make sure you're okay," he said.

"I'm fine," she said, doing her best to keep her voice even.

"You sure? You're voice is a little shaky."

She laughed quietly; clearly she had not done a very good job. "It's okay. I just had a little nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not really, but thanks anyway."

"If you ever want to talk, I'm here, Detective."

They listened to each other breathing, enjoying that they still were able to do so.

"So, how's Dr. Motorcycle Boy?" Castle asked, breaking the silence.

"He's gone. I assume he had to be on shift."

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to come over?" he asked.

Kate smiled. She did want him to come over, but she also wanted to give Josh a chance. She was about to answer when she heard footsteps outside her bed room door. Her cop instincts took over as she slowly opened her bedside drawer and took out her gun.

"Kate?" Castle asked from the other end of the line.

"Shh, hold on," she whispered, cocking her gun.

"Kate, what's going on?" Castle asked, sounding more frantic.

The door to Kate's bedroom opened and Kate's gun arm shot up in defense.

"Ahh!" Josh yelled, jumping and spilling water all over himself.

"Josh?" Kate asked, incredulous. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I thought I was staying the night. You were tossing and turning and sweating, so I thought that I'd get you some water. Hey, are you on the phone?"

Kate stared bewildered.

"Kate? What's going on? I thought you said he left," asked Castle, sounding just as perplexed as Kate felt.

"Yeah, I thought so. Apparently, he was just getting me some water…" she told Castle, her eyes never leaving Josh's confused face.

"Is that him? You're on the phone with him at 2:20 in the morning?" Josh asked, his voice level escalating.

"Can I call you back? Now's not the best time," Kate said, still looking away from her boyfriend.

"Sure thing. I'll be here if you need someone to talk."

"Thanks."

"Good luck."

Kate almost laughed at Castle's response as she hung up the phone and looked at Josh.

"Kate, what were you doing on the phone with him?" Josh asked, taking a step into the room.

"I woke up, you weren't here, I looked at my phone, saw that he texted me and I called him back. Is that a crime?"

"Nice choice of words, Kate. But it's the middle of the night. What are you doing talking to him?"

"I told you, he texted me saying that he wanted me to call him."

"At two in the morning?"

"He was having trouble sleeping!" Kate said, her voice level rising along with her anger.

"And you just had to help him, didn't you?" Josh said, seething.

"He almost died today! He wanted someone to talk to." Kate yelled.

"Why couldn't his daughter help him? Or his mother?"

"Josh, he is my partner. He wanted to talk to someone who went through the same thing as he did."

"No, I think he just wanted to talk to you," Josh said. He lowered his voice, talking, hoping Kate wouldn't hear him. "Partner, my ass."

Kate's detective skills were far too good to miss what Josh had said. She climbed out of bed, radiating anger.

"Yes, partner. Josh, I've told you hundreds of times. I'm a cop. I get in bad situations and I need a partner. Partners are the ones who are there for each other until the wheels fall off. We are more than coworkers – we're a family at the Twelfth, and if you can't accept that there's nothing more going on between us, then we have a problem," she screamed.

"Oh please, Kate. Don't insult my intelligence. I know you care for him more than the rest of your team. I know it's those two other detectives and you and writer-monkey. He's not even a cop!"

"Don't you even go there, Joshua Davidson. I would do the same for every single person on my team. You don't know half the stuff we go through every day. They are the ones who make sure that I am alive to see you at the end of the day. We work together; we trust each other. Maybe if you trusted me, you'd understand."

"I trust you. It's you who doesn't trust me! And maybe if you did, you would let me into your life, and we wouldn't be having this argument."

"Josh, you didn't leave for me. Because of that, I'm willing to give this a shot, but you have to listen to me, and listen well. Ryan, Esposito, and Castle are my partners. They are my team. If this is going to work, you cannot question me about where my loyalties lie. I trust them with my life. I trust you with my life," she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. She knew that trusting Josh with her life simply meant that she trusts him to operate on her and save her. She also knew that she didn't trust him with her heart, and the heart is the important thing when it comes to trust.

"And I trust you," he said.

"Then believe me when I say that nothing is going on between Castle and me. We are friends and partners."

"Okay. Now, drink this water I got for you, and let's go to bed."

Kate, still slightly annoyed, took the water, and slipped into bed. She turned and watched Josh as he closed his eyes, and his breathing steadied.

She rolled over, ready to go to sleep herself, when she felt her phone vibrate under her. She fished around for it, before finding it inside one of her pillow cases. How it got there was beyond her.

She looked at the display screen and saw that she had a message from Castle.

Is everything okay? Stay warm, KB. –RC

She smiled, and quietly, so as not to wake up Josh, she typed a quick reply.

Yeah, it's fine. I'm going to try and get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow. 'Night, Castle. –KB

She waited for his response, knowing that he liked getting the last word.

Until tomorrow, Detective. Sweet dreams. –RC

She forced her mind blank, and managed to slip into a fitful sleep – not quite asleep and not quite awake.

Kate felt Josh get up at around six to get ready for work. She rolled over, attempting to find a more comfortable position, knowing that he wasn't there anymore.

She again fell asleep, this time, a little deeper. She was glad for the few hours of dreamless sleep, before she was awakened by an incessant pounding at her door. She stumbled out of bed, and opened the door.

"Castle?" she asked, incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

Castle only smiled and walked into her apartment, leaving her with a perplexed expression, facing an empty door way.

Hello again, dear readers! I hope you enjoyed that...I know I had a blast writing it. Expect Dr. Motorcycle Boy to be around for at least a few more chapters (sorry, but we gotta give 'em a chance!)

Please leave me a review and let me know if you think they are in character or not. Also, let me know if there's anything you want to see happen in this story.

Best! Mangotango101