Lay down your money and you play your part, everybody's got a hungry heart."–"Hungry Heart"-Bruce Springsteen
He could feel the softness of her icy cold skin as he caressed her face with both hands. He could feel her body against hers as he tried his hardest to keep her as warm as possible. His face was buried in the crook of her neck, he could smell her hair, and it smelled of sweet lavender.
"Castle… I…."
"Shhh…." He interrupted, "Stay with me Kate, just stay with me"
/
"Dad…dad, wake up" Alexis shouted as she tried to shake him and wake him from his dream.
Rick shot up and out of bed, his eyes flew open, he was trembling with fear. Cold sweat dripping from his forehead, he couldn't stop shaking. This nightmare was just so real, all too real. Ever since that night they got stuck in the freezer, he kept reliving this horrible dream over and over. It was simply eating him alive; he didn't know just how much longer he could take this. He looked up blankly starring at his daughter as he began catching his breath and coming back into the real world.
"Dad, you have to tell Beckett" she whispered as she took a hold of his hand.
"Tell Beckett what?" Rick asked, trying to act as though he had no idea as to what Alexis was referring too.
Alexis just rolled her eyes at his response, and let go of his hand walking out of the room, heading off to go and get ready for school.
Rick sighed heavily as he slammed his head back against the pillows. He knew that Alexis was right, he swore to god that most of that time, she acted much more like an adult, often more than he did. He had to tell her, he had to tell her of his longtime feelings for her, but when, and how?
/
She shook violently from the cold as she lay in Castle's lap trying to keep warm. She had wanted to be in his arms like this for years, she had wanted it ever since they started working together. She had always had a crush on him, so when she had found out that he had wanted to shadow her; she practically had to fight with herself in order to keep her composure. Here she was, almost three years later, still fighting her hardest to hide her feelings from him. She couldn't do this anymore; she just couldn't keep fighting it. She decided that it was now, or never.
Her face tingled a little, as she could barely feel Castle's hands gently caressing her cheeks. She opened her eyes, looking directly into his fiery shining blue ones. It was now or never.
"Castle…I…."
"Shhh…" He interrupted, "Stay with me Kate, just stay with me."
/
Kate Beckett awoke with a jolt. This memory had been haunting her dreams ever since the two of them had been trapped in that giant freezer together. She tried to fight back a sob, as she remembered that that was the night that she almost told him of her true feelings. She laid her head back against the pillow and curled up into a ball, allowing herself to just let everything go. It amazed her how someone like the famous Rick Castle had this kind effect on her. Yet love tends to work in mysterious ways.
After a while, feeling like she could no longer breathe, she just lie there in the thick and heavy silence that surrounded her. It was so cold, so lonely, and so dark. She hated the dark and the silence, and most of all, she hated the loneliness. She simply couldn't bare living like this anymore, it was living a lie.
Kate now knew that she needed to be honest with Rick, but she just needed to find the right time first. The question was, when would that time be? She could only hope that it would be soon.
Just then, her phone began to ring, interrupting her from her long winding train of thought.
She sighed heavily in frustration, "Another day, another murder." She thought to herself.
Today was going to be beyond hell, not just for her, but for Rick too.