Quick prompt fill also posted to tumblr for Castle Fanfic Monday. Prompt included at the end of the story.

Thanks to Joanna (fan1bsb97) for your help!

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or the characters but all mistakes are mine.

In That Moment

The sight of her walking through the door was a small ray of light in the darkness of the situation. As he moved over to help Beckett with the gurney, she gave him a small knowing look before turning to Sal.

"Hey Sal. Hey, buddy. How're you doing? Sal, listen to me. I want you to know there are people out there that care about you, so just keep breathing."

Her voice was like coming home. All he wanted to do was ignore all of the rules and all of the walls that were built between them and just pull her into his arms. The ordeal was getting more heated and the 'doctors' were becoming more volatile. If something happened to him today and he never had a chance to be with Beckett…

The sad realization that they may never have their shot was interrupted when she reached over to squeeze his hand. Electricity shot through his body and buzzed against his skin.

"I promise you, I'm going to get you out of here," she said, looking down at Sal but she must have felt it too. The pull was too strong and she glanced at him with a concerned expression that shattered his heart. His finger hovered for a moment, wanting to brush alongside her soft skin and enjoy the connection for a second longer when he felt the cold press of the barrel of a gun against his back.

"I thought I recognized that voice. Hell of a bedroom voice, but it gave you away," Trapper John sneered.

"Excuse me?" she asked, stuttering and pulling her hand away from Castle.

"You're the feisty little cop I've been talking to over the phone. I will say, you look exactly like I imagined."

Castle watched as she tried to hide her face, attaching Sal further onto the gurney. He wanted to defend her but the gun was still firmly in place, jabbing at his muscles.

"I don't know what you're—"

"Save the dramatics sweetheart or I'll blow your boyfriend's insides all over this hostage. Dr. Quinn?" he asked, motioning behind himself. "Open the door just enough to push our friend Sal here, out the door. Lucky for us, it looks like we have someone taking his place."

Trapper John shoved her towards the rest of the hostages as he continued to press his gun into Castle's back. Her eyes flashed up at him as she stumbled to the floor.

"I'm fine," he mouthed to both, Kate and his mother, trying to ease their panicked expressions.

"Listen, you don't want to do anything stupid. They're working to get you the bus like you asked for. Just put the gun down," she pleaded as the man chuckled darkly in her direction.

"I've got a better idea, Kate. Everybody get up."

"What are you going to do?" Castle asked, trying to turn but feeling the gun pushing further into him. His eyes widened as he watched as the other faux doctors placed zip ties onto each of the hostages' wrists and lead them in a single file line back into the bank vault.

"You don't need to do this. No one needs to get hurt," Kate stated, horror filling her expression as Trapper John moved his gun from against Castle's back and placed it against his temple. Feeling the gun against his head, all thoughts of what was and what would've been flashed through Castle's mind.

"I don't know about that, Kate. What sort of lesson would I be teaching you if no one got hurt?"

With that, Castle felt the cold steel of the gun slam against his head before it all went black.

Darkness was the only thing Castle could focus on as the weight of his eyelids glued his eyes closed. He could hear voices all around him as consciousness returned to his body. The cool, hard ground was pressed along his lower body while his upper body rested upon something soft and warm. Gentle, feather-like touches brushed against his cheek as he felt the gentle tug of fingertips messing with his hair.

"Castle, please."

It was Kate?

She was the soft touches and the warm pillow?

Castle tried to force himself to open his eyes or form some sort of sound from his mouth…nothing. His body needed to play catch up with his mind. Not that his mind knew what exactly was going on…

He knew Kate was here with him, but where were they? Hearing the panicked voices of strangers coming into focus, he realized they had to still be in the bank. In the bank, but they were alive.

The calming touches seemed to become jittery, almost like she growing nervous while sitting here with him. He felt as she took a deep breath, but it didn't seem to calm her racing pulse he felt against his skin.

"Castle, we're going to get out of here," she whispered into his temple. "We are… and I promise to make up for lost time… I promise you…I love you." Her voice broke over her declaration as his heart jumped in his chest.

She loved him.

"I heard you that day—I'm sorry I haven't told you until now. I didn't want to lose you and I was a wreck, but I'm getting better for you…for me…for us. I just want you. I just need you and more than just partners…" she rambled, as she continued to run her fingers through his hair.

That was it. He needed to see her, but while his eyes refused to open maybe his mouth would.

"Kate-" he croaked.

He winced at the dry scratch of his throat. Had his mouth been open for long? Oh God, did he drool on her? Probably not the time to worry about that thought with everything else that was going on, but he couldn't suppress the mild embarrassment from the idea.

Slightly shifting his body, he felt the pounding shoot through his head. Trapper John had to be the worst doctor ever. At least the man hadn't knocked Castle's sense of humor out of him.

Quietly groaning to himself, he was finally able to slit open his eyes enough to see Kate. She sat there with her gorgeous tear filled eyes as her signature smile stretched across her face to greet him.

"Hey, Castle. Welcome back."

This was ridiculous. She watched several times as her fist hovered near the door and several times as she lowered her hand back to her side.

They'd just survived being taken hostage together and yet the idea of coming over to his house for dinner with his family was completely terrifying to her. Yet no less than a week ago, she had been over here watching a movie with Castle and Alexis without issue.

However, today changed everything.

All cards were out on the table. There wasn't a place for her to hide anymore. She couldn't pretend that the words weren't said. She couldn't pretend that the feelings weren't there. Her wall had crumbed to ash at the same time the bomb had gone off inside the bank.

Swallowing her pride, she quickly knocked on his door before she could back out again. It was now or never.

Her stomach was in knots by the time Martha answered and ushered her inside. His mother gave her a warm hug and spun her around before pulling her towards the feast she prepared.

"Oh, Martha, you really outdid yourself! It looks fantastic."

"I did! Facing death demands celebrating life. Tonight—"

"Beckett?"

Her attention shifted from Martha to Castle as he stood in his office doorway holding two glasses of wine. Her heart sped in her chest as she took a hesitant step toward him.

"Do you have a second?" he asked, motioning her to join him in his office. She smiled at Martha and walked toward her partner.

"You must have read my mind," she said with a grin as she reached for the outstretched glass.

"I figured after a day like today, we both deserved to relax a little."

She took a small sip of the red liquid and closed her eyes while the silence hung in the air, only increasing the tension between them.

Not exactly relaxing.

Her eyes darted across the room, watching as he paced near his desk and fidgeted with the various knickknacks that cluttered the space. Kate couldn't take it anymore. Her walls crumbled today and she'd be damned if that didn't mean something for them.

"Can we talk about today?"

"I wanted to. I actually wanted to thank you for saving my life…" Castle said, looking back at her before taking a long drink.

"Hardly can call it saving your life when I was taken hostage too…" she laughed, trying to brush off the disaster of the day.

"Yeah well you did enough with the investigation before then to help. Plus, we both lucked out that the robbers were incompetent when it came to explosives. Though my head is still throbbing a bit..." He ran his hand against what she could only imagine was a sizable bump from the butt of the gun.

"Wine isn't probably the best thing then."

"I'll survive," he said with a smirk. She chewed on her bottom lip for a second before she decided to just go for it.

"Castle, I know you heard me…" she blurted out. He gave her a quick nod and then lowered his sight to stare into his wine glass.

"And I know you heard me," he responded, looking up to finally meet her eyes. She could see the small flicker of hurt in his expression. Hurt most likely from her hidden truth.

"I did and…Castle, I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I'm sorry I kept it to myself for so long. I wanted to be ready," she said, words flying from her mouth as quickly as they could form.

"Ready?"

"Ready to say it back, Rick. Ready to dive into it with you."

"Bec-Kate, dive into it?" he asked, stammering. His typically confident demeanor was gone and that threw her more than she expected. Was he really not understanding what she meant or did he not feel the same way?

"Unless you don't want to anymore…"

"Unless I don't-" Castle shook his head in shock. His mouth stuttered open and closed like he was considering what to do next when his eyes locked on her.

Before she could even realize what was happening, in three quick strides his mouth was on hers and his hands were framing her face. She never knew what to expect from their first real kiss, but this? It was more, so much more… His lips were soft, yet strong as he ran his tongue against her mouth seeking entrance. She stumbled forward a bit, searching for a place to set her wine glass because she needed to touch him.

Winding her arms around his neck, Kate pulled his body closer to deepen their kiss but way too soon he slowed their movement. Parting from her mouth for a moment to catch his breath, he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers and whispered into the space between them.

"Kate, there's nothing I've ever wanted more."

The End

Tumblr Prompt: What if when Beckett went into the bank, Trapper John recognized her voice and kept her as a hostage. When all the hostages are taken into the vault of the bank Castle and Beckett think they are about to die and Beckett apologizes to Castle and tells him she always loved him!