At first it's a strange jolting sensation, not unlike going down a drop on a roller coaster. Then the weightlessness lifts and the full force of gravity takes hold of Kate Beckett's body as she hangs from the ledge.
She must have screamed, the look of smug satisfaction on Maddox's face told her so. He was speaking but the deafening thrum of her racing heart and adrenaline surging through her veins was drowning him out.
Fingers burn with exhaustion as the concrete ledge rips at the soft skin. Damn Castle and that stupid moisturizer that he gave her for Christmas.
Castle.
The pain encasing Kate's body receded as she thought of him. He wasn't here with her. Why wasn't he here? A different kind of pain roared through her chest. He's not here because you pushed him away! She mentally screamed at herself. The self loathing seeped through her consciousness like tar, slowly trickling through every pore, drowning rational thought. Kate looked down.
It doesn't look that high, she thought.
Her fingers twitch with anticipation, waiting for freedom from their shredding hold on the ledge.
Don't Kate!
Her vision corrected itself at the sound of Rick's warning. Her loosened fingers scramble against the slippery surface as she realized that she had to fight.
Castle wasn't here to help her this time. She needed to fight for him, for them. If she made it out of this, she was going to math right up to him and tell him exactly how much she wanted a life with him. She wanted to be happy. She deserved to be happy. With him. And Alexis. And their little Castle babies.
She was so tired. So sore. Blackness was blurring the corners of her consciousness, the shadows trying to coax her into oblivion.
She had to hold on. She could feel her fingers twitching every time the shadows made themselves known. Every time she fought back.
Help was coming. He was coming.
Castle!
Her feet were lead weights attached to her legs. Slowly getting heavier. It must be all that Chinese Castle keeps feeding her.
Castle!
Her hands are on fire, screaming in protest as gravity slowly pulls her down, scraping, tearing the skin.
He's coming. Just a little longer. He'll always come.
The strain is too much. The pain in her hands involuntarily releasing her grip on the ledge.
Weightlessness and a strong grip on her wrist. He would always be there.
Always.
More hands grabbed at her, pulling her back to safety. She searched for him.
Castle?
She scanned the rooftop but he wasn't there. Catching Ryan's eyes, she silently questioned him, dreading the answer that is now so painfully an obvious reality.
He wasn't there.