This is a one shot. I think. It's very different from what I've written so far. It's something I wanted to try. There will be another A/N at the end to explain this...

A DAY TO REMEMBER

This, was a day to remember.

The fact that Beckett had let him out of the car without protesting had already made this arrest pretty special.

When he had gone out and gotten his writer vest out and she hadn't protested he'd known, right there and then that he was, at long last, part of the team. There was no more waiting in the car, no more arguing.
She accepted him by her side, she accepted his presence, his input, his help. They were partners, for better or for worse.

Of course there were still rules to follow, especially when vests and guns were involved. But he'd come to know and accept them. She let him go in with her, the least he could do was stay out of the way.

They had gotten a tip from one of their informants, telling them that the man they were looking for was making a deal in this warehouse. The whole thing was so last minute that Beckett had decided to go in before back-up arrived. In any case, according to their source it would only be their man, his business partner and maybe a couple of goons to protect them. So they'd gone in, knowing that back-up would soon arrive anyway.

There was a series of adjoining warehouses, filled with piles of crates, sometimes of them reaching as high as the ceiling. Gun and lamp torch in hand, Beckett lead the way through the maze created by the boxes.

He stayed a few steps behind, on the lookout as well.
In truth he liked that part. He liked watching her when she was leading an assault. She was so focused, determined and tense. He reveled in the strength that was detective Beckett. He never felt safer than when he was with her. No matter the circumstances, no matter how dire a situation may have been, he always felt safe with her by his side.
And as she side-stepped from corridor to corridor, he couldn't help but admire her.
From time to time she gave him small hand signals he had come to learn. Stop, stay there, get back, wait, watch me... He had learned so much following her, observing her.

They started to hear voices in the distance. Whispers, barely audible. She turned to him, indicating he should be extra quiet. She turned off her light and lead them closer to the voices. As they moved, silently, they could hear the sounds better now. Two male voices, not enough to make out their words yet, but enough to know where they came from. Which is exactly where she took them.

They reached a high rising pile of containers and she extended a hand behind her, stopping him in his tracks. The voices were so close now. They could make out what they were saying very clearly.
She gestured for him to stay where he was and crossed to the other wall.
From his place he could barely see two men, standing in front of each other. There was a long corridor separating them from the two, but they could still make out the distinct built of their suspect. She took a peak down the corridor and he knew, she, too, had recognized him. There was no sign of any gun power, but then again their view of the rest of the warehouse was largely obstructed.

She took a moment to think and he knew she was considering her options.
She could go in, with Castle as her only back-up and arrest the two men. But not knowing if they were alone made it dangerous. Reckless even. Something Kate Beckett wasn't. But not doing anything and waiting could mean they would get away and they may never have another shot at getting their man. It had taken them long enough to get this particular lead.

She looked at him and for a moment he wondered if she was silently asking for his opinion. He looked back at her as seriously as he could manage, trying to convey through his eyes that no matter what decision she took, he had her back. He always had her back.
Somehow, that must have been the right response because he saw a flicker in her eyes and understood she'd made her decision. Part of him was flattered that she'd consider him a trustworthy enough back-up to go in alone. Another part of him, the often ignored, responsible, side of him worried this may not be such a good idea.
But who was he to argue with Beckett. And as he had silently promised. He had her back, no matter what.
She motioned for him to stay behind and then he saw her take a deep breath, ready her weapon and she stepped in the long corridor separating them from their man. He stepped right behind her.

And then it all went wrong.
Before they could take more than three steps toward the men, bullets came flying in their direction. Thankfully for the both of them Beckett's reflexes were as sharp as ever and she pushed Castle back into their corner, following him in the movement.
He ended up his back against the wall, Beckett in front of him, her two hands on each side of him.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, breathlessly and he nodded, unable to say much more.

As bullets kept flying past them in rapid succession, he felt his heart beat an insane rhythm and his chest rise and fall alarmingly fast. Looking at Beckett, he realized the scare had been the same for her as she too was breathing heavily. They looked at each other intently and her deep green eyes almost made him forget the deafening sound of bullets.
He wasn't sure if it was the whole 'we were almost turned into strainers' factor but he felt an odd feeling being so close to Beckett.
She stared at him funny too. Her gaze was more intense than it had ever been before. And as he looked deep into her jade eyes, it only took him a second to understand.
He let his eyes trail down her body and he saw it: a trickle of red liquid streaming down her leg from just above her hip. A bullet had hit her just where her vest stopped.

"Beckett! You're hurt!"

He felt stupid for stating the obvious and she grimaced; although he wasn't sure if it was at his stupidity or the pain.

"Let's go" she told him, as the guns firing at them seem to get closer to them.

They starting walking away, but she cried out in pain as soon as her right leg hit the floor. He took her arm and slung it around his shoulder, sliding one of his own around her waist and carrying her weight.
They managed to take a few steps, turning a corner, before her whole body collapsed on him. He took her down gently and sat her against a crate.

"Beckett?" he called her, completely unsure of what do to, hoping she'd tell him.

"Go!" she ordered in response.

"What?"

Not the order he had hoped to hear

"No way."

"I can't walk anymore Castle!"

He wasn't sure if she was yelling to be heard or from the pain or from... something else

"You need to get out of here!"

"No. No way Beckett, I'm not leaving you behind. I can carry you."

"You'd be too slow. You'd never make it out."

He looked frantically around, hoping that he'd be hit by a genius idea to get her out. The guns were getting closer, there was no doubt about that. But at least the maze created by the boxes gave them some time to breath.

"We have to try. I have to get you out of here."

He tried to slide a hand behind her body but she pushed him back, hard, the motion making her grimace in pain again.

"Castle! For once in your life, do as I say. Get the hell out of here!"

He shook his head, getting close to her again.

"No. I can't leave you. I can't."

"Castle, you want to help? Then get out of here! Get out of here and get me some damn back-up!"

He looked out into the distance, in the general direction of the exit, calculating if he could carry her there. He knew he couldn't. But he had to try. He had to do something, anything. There was no way he could leave her behind.
She took his hand and put her gun in it.

"Richard, listen to me."

She had stopped yelling, her tone was low and commanding, but tender as well.
Plus, she'd called him 'Richard', so he listened.

"I am not going to die, okay? I promise you. But I need you to go. Get out of here. Find Ryan and Esposito. Find back-up. And then come back and save me. Okay?"

He looked deep into her eyes and then leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers for the first time. They stayed like that a few seconds and then he pressed his forehead against hers.

"I will be back. I promise."

"I know. I'll be here."

He closed his fingers around the gun, got up and started running.

He wasn't sure where the exit was exactly, he hadn't paid much attention, but he ran. He ran like there was no tomorrow. He ran for his life, for her life. He ran faster than he'd ever run before. He stopped hearing bullets. He kept running. His breath was eluding him, his heart was going crazy, droplets of perspiration ran down his face. He kept running.

The gun fires were getting closer and she knew she had to move. With the strength of one arm, she dragged herself along the corridor, grateful for the sound of the bullets covering her cries of pain. She pressed as hard as she could on her wound, trying to prevent the bleeding, to prevent leaving a trace behind. She reached a corner and turned. The bullets stopped. She kept crawling, grinding her teeth to stop herself from crying out. The pain was making her weak. She was hot. She was tired. Her vision was growing blurry. She stopped and leaned back against a box.

He rounded a corner and saw a ray of light at the end of the corridor. The door surely. His resolve and his love for the injured detective were the only strengths carrying him through this last sprint. The light grew bigger. He started feeling sick to his stomach. He saw red and blue lights flashing; back-up was there. Breathing became painful. He stepped outside and felt the fresh air on his face, he saw Ryan, he saw Esposito.

"Beckett" he breathed, gesturing inside the warehouse with the blood covered hand holding the detective's gun.

And he collapsed.

She heard footsteps.
She should have moved away further still. Take cover. But she was tired. So tired.
She only found the strength to bring one hand to her lips, remembering the feeling of his lips against hers. Remembering him. Whispering his name. And closing her eyes, one...last... time.

This, was a day to remember.

It was the day they first kissed.

THE END

A/N: Okay, please don't kill me !

To those of you who usually like my stories because they're fluff/smutt don't run away! I promise this was just a one shot kind of story. And I don't plan on writing another like that for a verrrrrrry verrrrrry long time (if ever!).
Someone dared me to write a sad OS and well, I had to take that dare.

But you know, if you can find it in your heart to review, I'd still appreciate it ^^

*goes back to writing good ol' fluff*