*Just a quick drabble I came up with, based on the ABC and CTV promos for "Still". If you haven't seen them, and you want to avoid spoilers, go no further. Major spoilers lie ahead.

(Castle)

This is worse than the worst case scenario.

It's not enough that the woman he loves is standing on a pressure-sensitive bomb that could go off and kill her if she breathes wrong. No. The damn thing has to have a timer, too.

He's sitting as close to Kate as he's allowed to be. He's been trying to keep her distracted, keep her relaxed, but he can see the toll that this is taking on her.

Kate shifts her weight a little, and the entire room freezes. One of the bomb squad guys actually glares at her and Castle has to repress the urge to hit him. It's not her fault she's standing on enough explosives to level the building.

She ducks her head sheepishly and goes still. "Sorry," she mumbles, and Castle hears the fear in her voice that was undetectable before. It hits him like a punch to the gut. She's just as scared as he is.

"How much time do we have left?" Castle asks, his heart in his throat. He needs to know how much longer they have to wait before she's safe.

The bomb squad captain lets out a sigh. "Twelve minutes, fifty-four seconds," he reports. He turns to one of his guys. "Make sure the immediate area is evacuated."

Castle's heart clenches. "Wait, evacuate? Why?" he demands.

"That bomb's going off in twelve minutes," the captain tells him. "We're doing our best to stop it, but we might not get it done in time. We need to get all civilians clear of the blast-zone, just in case."

Castle nods. "Right."

The guy puts a hand on his shoulder and pushes him towards the door. "All civilians," he repeats. "That includes you, Mr. Castle."

"No," Castle protests. "I'm not leaving her." He sees the captain exchange a look with Kate and his heart drops. "Kate..."

She lets out a shaky breath. "I told him that if it got too close, to make you leave. Even if they have to drag you out of this building unconscious."

"Why?" he asks helplessly. "Why can't I stay with you."

She bites her lip, and he can tell she's trying not to cry. "Because I'm already this close to breaking one promise to your daughter. No way in hell I'm breaking two."

"What promises?"

One tear escapes, slipping down her cheek. "I promised her I'd never leave you," she whispers. "And I promised that I'd do everything in my power to keep you from getting hurt."

"Kate..."

"We've had a great run, Castle," she says, her voice laden with despair. "But, it's time to say goodbye."

He wants to fight her on this, stay with her to whatever end, but the pleading look she gives him makes him realize that she needs this. She needs the comfort of knowing that he's safe more than she needs him. So he steels himself and turns to walk out the door.

Her whisper is so quiet that he almost doesn't hear it. But the words register, and they stop him in his tracks. He turns back to her and she's smiling sadly, tears flowing freely. "What did you say?"

Kate closes her eyes and tilts her head back. She takes a deep breath and looks back at him. "I love you." She gasps through her tears. "I love you, Castle, and I just...I need you to know."

"I love you, too, Kate," he replies. "So much." And then he's being pushed back, herded out of the apartment and down the stairs.

He waits obediently behind the blast-zone barrier, standing as close as they'll allow. Gates and the guys are a few feet behind him. They keep trying to tug him back, but he ignores them, watching the building intently.

Castle figures there's maybe a minute left on the timer when the building door opens and Kate emerges. He ducks under the barrier and manages to make it a few feet before she barrels into him, knocking them both to the ground.

He wraps his arms around her, holding on tight. And then she's kissing him, and nothing else matters. He doesn't care that they're lying in the middle of the street or that Gates is 10 feet away or that he can taste the salt from her tears on her lips. Kate's alive and she loves him and that's all that matters.

"I love you," she murmurs, her hands coming up to frame his face. "I love you more than you could ever know, and I'm sorry it took me so long to say it."

"Doesn't matter," he growls, kissing her again. "Love you, Kate."

"Love you, too, Castle."