Rick Castle watched in horror as Beckett's apartment burst into flames. He had been too late in warning her. The shock of the explosion had taken over his body and cemented his feet to the ground. It felt like hours before the realization hit him that Beckett might be hurt and that she might need help. He raced across the street and into the building, ignoring the crowds of people yelling at him to wait for the firefighters. He pushed past the people who were frantically trying to get out of the building, running up the four flights of stairs to her second floor apartment.

The door of her apartment had been blown off as a result of the bomb. He ran through the open doorway and was horrified at what he saw. There was almost nothing left of her apartment at all, he couldn't even begin to imagine the possessions she had lost.

"Beckett!" he called loudly, circling her living room quickly, looking for any sign of her.

"Kate, can you hear me?" he called again, coughing from the smoke. "Kate!"

"Castle! I'm in here! In the bathroom!" he heard a faint voice call.

He ran towards her bathroom, avoiding any wooden beams that were currently engulfed in flames.

He found Kate huddled in the corner in the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Had it been any other time he would have made some kind of smart ass comment but right now his first concern was getting her to safety. He noticed that she was cradling her arm and had blood running down her face.

"Come on," he said gently, coughing still from the smoke. "We've got to get you out of here."

He effortlessly scooped her up into his arms, holding her tightly against him. She started to cough and he could feel her trembling as he ran as quickly as he could with her in arms to the fresh air that awaited them outside.

He ran down the stairs, almost dropping her once and burst out the door. Both of them inhaled deeply allowing the cool New York air fill their lungs.

Within seconds, firefighters and paramedics were surrounding them, ushering them to the nearest ambulance. One of the firefighters offered to take Beckett from Castle but he refused to let go of her. He gently placed her down on the gurney the paramedics wheeled towards him but he still kept a tight hold on her hand, jogging along side the gurney as it was wheeled to the awaiting ambulance. He watched as one of the paramedics slipped an oxygen mask over her mouth while the other handed him one of his own.

He felt Beckett tug on his hand then and peered down at her, concern filling his eyes.

"Thanks, Rick," she said as she passed out.

"What's wrong with her?" Rick asked, frantically as the lifted the gurney into the ambulance.

"She's going to be fine," one of the paramedics answered as he watched Castle try to climb into the ambulance after Beckett. "But you can't come with her."

"If you think I'm leaving her, you're wrong. I'm coming with her whether you like it or not," he responded coolly, daring the paramedic to challenge him again.

The paramedic sighed. "Fine, but don't get in our way."

Castle climbed into the back of the ambulance and was jolted against the metal side as he felt the driver pull away from the flaming apartment. He reached for Beckett's hand once more, willing her to open her eyes so that he knew she was ok.

"Which hospital are we going to?" Castle asked.

"St. Vincent's," responded one of the paramedics as he monitored Beckett's vitals.

Castle turned to Beckett again and watched as her eye lids fluttered once, then twice until finally she opened her eyes.

"Kate!" he exclaimed.

The paramedic, alerted by Castle's out burst that Beckett was awake, moved over to her side and began asking her questions.

"Miss Beckett, do you know where you are?" he asked.

"It's Detective Beckett," Castle said interrupting and saw the paramedic shoot him a glare. He glanced down at Beckett and saw a small smile appear on her face.

"I'm in an ambulance," Beckett said hoarsely.

"Do you remember what happened, Detective?"

"My apartment exploded. There was a bomb." Castle watched as her eyes widened. "Castle! He's still alive! We have to go tell the others!"

"Shh," he whispered. "It's already taken care of. My mother called Montgomery when I came to get you."

Beckett seemed content with that for a minute.

She suddenly sat up, startling both Castle and the paramedic.

"I need to go help them. I need to get out of here, they'll need my help."

"No," Castle said firmly.

Beckett recognized it as the same tone he had used when he had told her he wasn't leaving her apartment and had slept on her couch. To protect her, he had said. That was the first time he had ever spoken to her like that and she had been at a loss for words, leaving her no other option but to listen to him. And now again the tone was back and she had no choice but to listen to him, knowing deep down that he was right.

"You're going to go get checked out at the hospital and then we'll see what happens," he said more gently.

Beckett lay back down on the gurney, staring up at the ceiling and allowed her thoughts to drift back to the way she had felt in Castle's arms.