Prompt from Castle Fan Fic Promoter Blog: Headhunters, After Slaughter punches Castle in the gut, and after Kate walks away, Castle feels an explosion of pain in his midsection and passes out.

Xxx

Lifeline

Castle watched Kate walk away from him, her words stinging in his ears as the hunched figure of her long form disappeared down the hallway.

"That's what partners are supposed to do."

Her words burned all the way to the pit of his stomach as he fought the urge to follow her. The last few weeks had been harder than he'd thought. He was determined to push her away, the sting of her betrayal still too deep for the wound to even begin to close. But as he watched her disappear before him, the thin line of her shoulders set with sadness, the familiar tug within his heart gravitated him towards her.

Castle started to move towards her, wanting to thank her properly, wanting to remove the dark smudges under her eyes that haunted him, knowing that he had caused them. The sudden pain in his abdomen was so sharp it took away his breath momentarily. He pressed a wide hand to his tender stomach, cursing the dark bruising he knew would stain his skin by morning. A sense of longing took hold of him, to a time where Kate would have searched his face, her eyes wide with worry whilst her fingertips touched his skin, gently reassuring herself.

He tried to shake the feeling, his feet unsure as whether to head to the elevator or towards her. She doesn't love you, he reminded himself. The thought sending a crashing wave of pain through him, heavier than the fist to his gut. He stopped to lean against the wall, his heart pounding within his chest as he contemplated his decision, how crushed she had looked when he had asked about partnering with Slaughter yesterday morning. God he missed her.

Castle remained leaning against the wall longer than he had anticipated, he was having troubling catching his breath and could hear his rapid heartbeat echoing in his ears. He pressed his hands to his face which felt cold against his skin, he pulled his hands back to see them drenched in sweat. Something wasn't right. It was as though he could feel the world spinning on it's axis, causing him to sway in time with it's movements, a dull ringing beginning to flood his ears drowning out the sound of his thundering heartbeat. He pressed his hands flat against the wall behind him, his knees feeling weak beneath him. Why was the world spinning so quickly?

"Kate" he called out to her, surprised by the voice he heard, it sounded weak and panicked. He tried again, clearing his throat.

"Kate"

She emerged from a doorway a few steps away from him, he could hear the sigh on her voice as she spoke.

"What, Castle?"

He managed to drag his eyes up to meet her face, an apology forming on his lips, but the spinning became too much for him and he fell heavily to the floor beneath him, the words lost into the tiled floor of the precinct.

The second Kate saw Castle's face, alarm began to creep into her senses, his skin was pale and clammy, he clung to the wall like it was the only thing keeping him upright. She instantly regretted her harsh words to him as his eyes darted frantically around the narrow hallway. The next sound she heard was that of his heavy frame colliding with the floor beneath him, an involuntary squeak escaped her mouth before she ran to him.

Kate's hair cloaked her face as she knelt before him, the tips of the strands tickling his pale face.

"Castle? Castle?" She called out desperately, running her hands over the cool skin of his face. When he didn't respond panic flared within her, her fingers harshly shaking his face, begging him to wake up. She was finding it hard to breathe, the air catching in her throat as she tried to rouse him. Then she remembered the punch. She ran her hands down his body, her fingers skimming the muscles of his chest in a way she would normally dream about, until they reached the right side of his abdomen. The skin felt hard beneath her trembling fingers, his buttons fumbling in her hands as she desperately tried to open his shirt. She ended up tearing it open, the echo of buttons skittering down the hallway filling her ears. Kate's fingers danced across the tufts of hair on his stomach until her fingers found the poppy bruise that stained his skin. The area was hard with tension, the angry mark seeming to spread beneath her eyes. She raised a hand to his neck, pressing her fingers gently against his stubbly skin searching for a pulse. For a heart stopping moment she couldn't find one, she held her breath, her world collapsing in around her, until she felt a faint movement against her fingers. Her breath left her in a rush. His pulse was weak, struggling to beat against his skin. Her fingers traced the edge of his cheek where the outline of his smile should be.

"Call the EMTs" she shouted, her voice cracking as she took in his broken form. She pressed her other hand against her open mouth, almost surprised to find it wet from the tears she didn't realise were streaming down her face.

"Come on Castle, not like this. Not now" she whispered, leaning into his face, her tears dropping from her face and running down his.

Kate could hear movement behind her as people came to stare and dial frantically for help but she remained oblivious to it. Her long body hunched over his, one hand caressing his face whilst the other hand guarded his bruise. She cried freely now, not caring who saw her, as she begged him over and over not to die on her.

After what felt like a lifetime the EMTs were behind her, laying gentle hands on her shoulders, trying to move her so they could work on Castle.

"Ma'am? You need to move". They spoke gently but with authority.

"No, no. I'm not leaving him. I'm not leaving him". She didn't recognise her own voice, it sounded so desperate it hurt her heart to hear it.

"We can't help him if you don't move".

Kate shifted to one side, her hands clutching his in her lap, her thumbs moving slowly over his skin as though she could pour her own life into him.

"What happened?"

"He…he was hit" she tried to hold in the sob that was rising within her, "Then he just collapsed".

"I've got a pulse, it's weak and shallow but it's there. He's in shock. Abdomen is rigid, possible internal bleeding. Let's get him on the stretcher."

Kate stepped back as they lifted him, he looked so weak, lost in a slumber that he could not control. As they strapped him in, pressing an oxygen mask over his face, she never let go of his hand, as though she were the life support that was keeping him breathing. She ran alongside the stretcher, murmuring words to him as they moved, begging him to live; for her.

Kate sat in the back of the ambulance with him, the sirens she knew were blaring didn't permeate her mind, all she could hear in her head was his confession to her months ago. She tried not to think about it, knowing he might not feel that way anymore, the fear in that thought nearly as overwhelming as the quick turns from the ambulance.

They reached the hospital within ten minutes, their ambulance being met by a team of doctors and nurses. Soon his arm was punctured with needles and thin tubes ran out of his veins, pumping more blood into him, keeping him alive. They cut off his shirt, the fabric left abandoned on the hospital floor as the pale sweat glistened off his chest.

"Miss, we're taking him into theatre now. You need to let him go"

"No…no" Kate whimpered, her hand still clinging to his as she looked at his face, he was barely recognisable beneath the maze of cables and monitors.

"He's bleeding internally. He needs to get into theatre in the next ten minutes so we can find the cause of the bleed".

Kate stumbled on another breath, her free hand running down his vacant face.

"Please live, please" she choked against his skin before pressing her lips to his. She'd been dreaming of kissing him, but not like this. His lips were cold and lifeless against hers, not like the last time they'd kissed, where she could feel the life in him through the demanding taste of his mouth.

"I love you, Rick. I love you".

They wheeled him away from her, his fingers pulling from hers as they ran down the wide corridor leaving her standing empty and broken in the hospital hallway. She used her hands to wipe away the tears that coursed down her face, ignoring the tremors that shook against her skin. Kate turned and picked up his tattered shirt from the floor, holding it to her face, praying that she would see him again. That she would be able to confess those words to him and feel the warmth of his lips pressing on hers. For now, all she could do was wait, breathing in his scent and silently begging him not to die.

Xxx

A/N: This was originally going to be a oneshot but I have an overwhelming need to continue…