Slow Burn
Summary: AU set during 2x17/2x18. Rick Castle was a firefighter but he quit when his daughter was born, and he knows he shouldn't do anything, but he finds himself bolting up the stairs to Kate's rescue.
He shouldn't be doing this.
He dropped out from the dream job he had established at the mere age of eight to ensure his daughter had a father to come home to.
He isn't donning any protective gear, and he can hear the words of the safety videos he was forced to watch during training whirling through his brain, reminding him of consequences such as third degree burns and choking to death.
He isn't as fit as he used to be, the times where he used to wake up promptly at 5am everyday to use the fire department's gym now definitely behind him.
He shouldn't be doing this.
But like everyone else on this street on the dark, cloudy evening, his eyes are fixated on the apartment block that just spontaneously burst into flames, the wails of the car alarms that were activated piercing through his ears, the small amounts of ash and soot floating down through the air and landing on the cold cobbled ground.
So he finds himself bolting up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
There are others pushing past him on the staircase; mothers holding their screaming babies tightly in their arms, older people in their pyjamas hobbling quickly, panicked individuals already on their phones, whispering words to their loved ones as they escape the hellish scene.
Once he's climbed up multiple flights, he can easily distinguish which apartment is the most damaged by the flames. He notices that the door in front of this apartment is the only one that has remained closed. He firmly wants to believe that this means the owner is on holiday, relaxing somewhere nice and tropical, or they work a night shift, or they moved out only days ago. But he can't believe that, because he's always been somewhat of a pessimist. There's probably someone in there.
He pounds on the door with both fists, feeling the heat from the flames inside hitting against his clenched hands as he does so. He knows that the noise from inside must be loud, the crackle of the fire, the crashing of furniture, the fire alarms from other rooms buzzing.
"Hello?" He shouts, already feeling his throat being smothered by the smoke as soon as he opens his mouth, "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"
His feet join in, kicking haphazardly between the beating rhythm of his hands, but he still can't hear movement from inside. He shouts louder, willing his hoarse voice to travel through the thick, wooden door. But he doesn't count on it.
He takes a few steps back, inhales deeply, then bolts for the door, lunging from his right side, feeling slightly accomplished that he can still manage to break a door down (even though the twinging pain in his shoulder definitely means he didn't do it as effectively as he used to).
He walks in cautiously, bowing his head down in order to avoid both the suffocating smoke and the fallen pieces of furniture that have criss-crossed over the path.
"Hello?" He shouts again, his head whipping around frantically, searching for any signs of life as he heads further into the apartment.
He can hear approaching sirens, meaning that trained professionals are now on their way, and he knows he's going to get some sort of bad consequence for this, knows he's going to be told that he's just a civilian. But he can't leave. He won't give up hope.
Suddenly, a soft cough sounds from the right side.
He turns quickly on his heel, watching carefully through the streaks of orange and yellow and black as he surveys the scene.
Then, four fingers curl over the rim of the bathtub. And his heart plummets and soars simultaneously.
As he approaches the person, a head of brunette hair lifts up. The woman is hurled over, still coughing and clutching her chest, and he hurtles towards her, not even caring for the flames anymore.
"You're alive." He whispers, more for him than her, and lifts a fallen piece of wood from leaning against the tub, revealing her.
"Oh, and you're naked." He states, even as he tries to avoid ogling the poor woman whose apartment just blew up.
"Turn around!" Her voice finally says, laced with strength and determination, which he has to admire, considering how vulnerable she looks right now.
He immediately obeys her command, and his attention is brought back to the fire that surrounds the two of them, and though the flames are slightly dying down, he knows that he has to get them out of this environment, and fast.
"Ma'am, your apartment is on fire, now might not be the best time for modesty." He quips sarcastically, something he would've never done in any previous experience with fire, but he knows that joking makes his daughter feel safer and happier, so the words are out before his subconscious can catch up.
The loud sigh she emits is a mixture of breathlessness from the smoke and irritation from his comment. "Fine. Hand me a towel."
Her words still seem like an irrefutable order, so he leans forward with his palm open, then stops abruptly, "Your towels are on fire."
She stays silent for a moment, "Well, what about the bathrobe?" Her voice now has a certain edge of uncertainty, but he definitely can't blame her.
"They…" His eyes flick over to the once white garment, which now has a small flame still burning in the left corner, the rest of the soft fabric now covered in black. "Do you have anything to wear that's not flammable?"
During his sentence, he unconsciously turned around to look at the woman, who doesn't hesitate to chastise him with a sharp 'Hey!' making him whip his head back away with a quick 'sorry'.
She bites her lower lip as she thinks, then comes up with the most practical solution that she can think of on short notice, "Give me your jacket."
In any other circumstance, he would've made a joke about how bossy and dominating this woman appears to be in the one minute that they've known each other, but instead he doesn't hesitate to shake his brown coat off his broad shoulders and hold it out to her.
Within a brief second, her sharp voice is back and the shyness is gone, "Don't look."
"I'm not." He defends, fixing his gaze outside the window as she stands up from the porcelain bathtub, her knees knocking together as her legs shake, no doubt a small injury from the impact.
After one more 'don't look' comment, and several slow and steady movements that ensure this stranger doesn't see any patch of skin that he shouldn't, she lets out a small noise of acceptance which lets him know that he's now allowed to turn around.
He manages to properly look at the woman for the first time, and he notes that underneath the scratches and the ash, she's gorgeous. Her short hair tied up at the back of her skull, her slim body encompassed by his favourite coat, her facial features still looking delicate in the glow of the flames. But he knows now isn't the time to focus on that.
So he gently aids her out of the bathtub, feeling a sense of relief as her small hands clasp around his forearm, the incredibly tight grip bringing up a red flag indicating that she might be more in pain than she's letting on.
"I dove into the tub right as it blew." She explains, her head downcast as if she's hesitant, which he immediately notices.
"Can you walk?" He asks gently, and despite the loud grunt of exertion that she emits, her answer still seems nonchalant.
"Yeah, just a little banged up." She replies, her right leg immediately faltering underneath her as she puts her weight onto it.
He shifts behind her slightly so that he can grasp her arms in an attempt to stop her from putting so much pressure on the leg, but she still hobbles to the door, her eyes widening as she takes in the damage that the bomb has created in her home.
"Nice and easy." He whispers into the shell of her ear in a soothing tone, repeating himself again as it seems to calm her down somewhat.
"Are you in any pain?" He questions once they've walked a few steps, but she solely inhales.
Knowing that he won't be satisfied without an answer, she responds with the usual 'I'm fine' as they make their way down the steps, back out onto the street with her in his arms.
Once they're back on the ground and out of the fiery building, they hobble out of the way of the firefighters, who don't give the two a second glance. He brings her over to a nearby bench, which she immediately falls down onto, letting out a small sigh of pain as her face scrunches up, but he ignores it for now.
She's silent for a while and he lets her be, knowing that she'll have a lot to take in, her eyes slowly raking over the scene; civilians being pushed off to the side, car alarms still blaring, more and more fire engine vehicles pulling up to the block.
"Why did you do that?"
He extracts his gaze from the multiple workers in bright yellow, fluorescent jackets to look over at the woman, but her eyes are staring at the floor. He lets the words she spoke whirl around his brain before he answers.
"I used to be a firefighter." He holds back on most of the story, but the small sentence seems enough for the stranger, her lips pursed as she gives a minute nod.
Silence falls over them again, but this time, he's the one to break it. "C'mon, let's get you fixed up."
Her hazel eyes snap upwards at that, her eyebrows bunched up in confusion, but then she only sighs, "We don't even know each other."
He brings a hand to his chest, "I'm Rick Castle, and you're…" He moves the hand towards her, and her expression stays neutral, but he swears he sees an amused glint in her eyes.
"Kate Beckett."
Rick perks up after hearing her name, but refuses to ponder what that entails or why it's happening, "Okay, Kate. Let's get you to a hospital."
She shakes her head fervently, which makes a sharp jolt of pain travel up to her shoulder, but she insists her refusal anyway, "No, I need to go update my team."
"Your team?" He enquires, and she nods, slowly this time.
Kate explains the situation fully and thoroughly to him; the bomb, the threats, the apparent incorrect arrest, everything.
He seems to take all of this new information in before persisting, "You can call them from the ambulance."
Kate shakes her head once more, "I don't need an ambulance, I'm fine." She insists, sitting up from her curled position to make her point seem more true.
"Well, you're going to the hospital anyway." He states, taking in her battered and bruised skin, "You want to ride a New York cab while you're mainly naked?"
The realisation seems to hit her and she crosses her legs tighter, but she can't deny his reasoning, "Fine."
He feels a small rush of pride at the fact that he made the stubborn woman he just met conform to his view. But the eye roll she gives at his giddiness demonstrates to him that it probably won't happen again.
The journey to the hospital is a blur of pokes, prods and needles. Kate feels an oxygen mask being placed over her mouth and nose, which does make her emit a noise of disapproval, but the nurse urges that it'll help clear the smoke from her airways and stop her coughing.
However, Kate doesn't see her coughs as a matter of urgency. The fact that she's still completely naked under a stranger's coat is a little bit higher on the priority list.
But before she can argue her point, her eyes flutter closed, and the ruckus around her dulls down as she fades away.
When she awakes, she's placed in a small and slightly claustrophobic hospital room, plastered with pale blues and now faded whites. She tentatively attempts to move different areas of her body, her left side definitely worse as that was the side that hid the base of the tub. The predominant pain seems to be in her arm and ribs, but at least she's wearing a hospital gown now, which seems slightly more decent.
As Kate comes to her senses, she can register hushed voices outside her room. With small whimpers and groans, she manages to sit up just enough so she can look out of the window placed in the door of her room.
She sees Rick there, who has his arm wrapped securely around a teenage girl with bright orange hair, and he's talking to an older woman with the same hair colour. Kate strains her ears as she attempts to make out the mumbled words.
"Richard, you said that after Alexis was born, you were done with this." The older woman states, her hands gesturing wildly.
"Gram, don't be mad at him. He saved someone's life." The young girl comments, looking up at her Dad with obvious pride shown on her face.
"Mother, I was coming back from the bar after poker, and her apartment blew up in front of me. I wasn't going to stand there and do nothing, knowing that it would take a long time for the firefighters to get there in time to save her." Rick rebuts assertively, and his Mom's shoulder sag slightly.
"I'm just glad you're not hurt." She says in a calmer tone, and Rick places his other arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss onto her forehead.
"I'm okay, I promise." He assures, with one last squeeze to the two women then lets them go, "Now, you two go home, get some rest." He turns to his daughter, "You've got school tomorrow. So sleep. As soon as you get home, okay?"
The girl nods reluctantly, and rises up onto her tiptoes to place a small kiss onto her Dad's cheek, then walks down the corridor, her arm looped in her Grandmothers.
Rick watches them for a while before turning back to Kate's room, who doesn't even pretend she wasn't watching the scene as his eyes lock with hers.
Before he can sit down in the visitor's chair next to her, she speaks, "You have a family."
"Yes." He replies without hesitance.
"Why did you risk that to save me?" Kate asks with honesty, but Rick only shrugs.
"Instinct."
Her eyes squint in his direction, showing that she's not fully convinced at his reply.
"C'mon," He continues, "Say you say someone pointing a gun at someone else on the street. You would intervene. Cop's instinct, right?"
Now Kate shrugs, "But I'm still a cop, it's my job. You're…"
Rick instantly picks up on her hesitant pause, "If you say 'retired', I'm leaving right now."
A gentle chuckle sounds from her lips, and he relishes in the fact that it's the first time he's managed to get a smile out of her since he met her.
Soon enough, a doctor walks in, his eyes not straying from his clipboard.
"Okay, Ms Beckett," He begins, "The exams have showed us that your ribs on your left side are quite badly bruised, and your left arm is too, especially your upper arm. I'll recommend some painkillers for this, but they should heal on their own. If you do feel any severe pain though, please come visit us again."
Kate and Rick both nod in sync, so the doctor continues, "You should rest at home though, Ms Beckett. I would say for about one to two weeks."
She inhales a sharp breath, "I don't have a home."
Rick immediately hears the small crack in her voice at the last word, and wishes that he could pull her into his lap and lightly stroke his palm up and down her back, but instead he reaches forward and places it gently over her hand.
"Yes, you do. With me."
Kate's head turns around to face his, the stray hairs that have fallen out of her up-do whipping her cheeks.
"What?" At Rick's nod, she continues to reject his offer, "We just met tonight."
"And I braved hellish flames to save your life, I think we should be higher on the friend scale than most strangers." He quips, but his face remains as serious as hers.
"Rick, I couldn't." She says firmly, but he's not taking any of it.
"You can and you will."
Kate considers refusing again, but she soon realises that she really doesn't have much of another option.
He takes Kate's silence as an opportunity to persuade her, "My apartment is a secure building, with an extra bedroom, and my Mother's already offered to take care of you. And I can pull a few strings and get a federal detail at the door. It's the safest place in the city."
She lets out a shaky sigh, her eyes softening slightly at the gravity of his tone. The two stare each other down, both waiting for the other to make the next move, but it's the doctor that interrupts them.
"Ms Beckett, you need a safe place to stay. Mr Castle explained to us about the situation you were in, and I cannot allow you to be at that risk again. I know it may not be my place, but since Mr Castle has offered, you should stay with him." He commands firmly, "Doctor's orders."
He spins around and leaves the room in order to collect some medication for his patient, and Kate sighs once again, leaning back onto the baby blue pillow and pressing the heels of her palms over her closed eyelids, the red spots that appear through the darkness bringing her mind back to the flames from earlier.
She hears a few steps approaching, then a firm hand on her right shoulder, the fingers gently stroking the sore bone, making her eyes well up underneath her hands at the care this stranger was giving her.
"Once he returns with your medication, I'll call for a town car back to my apartment, and you can try and get some sleep, okay?" Rick says calmly, his voice smooth and gentle as if he was talking with caution.
Kate merely nods again, but when she moves her hands from her face and places one atop of his, he receives her message of 'thank you' loud and clear.
She worries about unexpectedly coming into someone else's home for the whole journey, but once she crosses the boundary into the apartment, she instantly feels the love and sympathy that the two redheaded women are keen to provide her with.
Martha introduces herself and Alexis, whilst Rick excuses himself to get the guest room ready for Kate. The two older women speak in gentle tones, Martha instantly giving off a motherly warmth as she holds one of Kate's hands securely, telling her about how she's there for her. And once Alexis gingerly places a steaming cup of hot cocoa on the coaster on the coffee table for Kate with wide, blue eyes and a shy smile, she knows that the girl is silently giving her the same speech.
Though she wishes she could be tucked up in her own bed right now, she supposes being here with the Castles isn't the worst fate.
As she enters her temporary room, she encounters Rick who's placing some folded clothes onto the edge of the bed.
"I brought you a few of my shirts and some of Alexis' pyjama pants, in case you wanted to shower before you went to bed." He explains, rubbing his neck self-consciously as Kate approaches him.
Kate nods, knowing that the hospital had cleaned her up a bit when she had arrived on the gurney, but she was still desperate to wash off the antiseptic smell from her skin.
Rick gives her one last sympathetic smile, then begins to walk out of her room in order to give her some privacy. He places his hand on the doorknob to close the door shut behind him, but Kate's voice pipes up quietly behind him.
"Rick?"
His head snaps up as she walks slowly closer to him, her eyes slightly squinted as if she was interrogating him, making him fiddle with the cuffs of his shirt under her gaze.
She continues to approach him until they are merely inches apart, Rick only now fully appreciating the intricate colouring of her eyes, a mixture of forest green and chestnut brown, which seem to be glittering in the dim light of the room.
Kate leans up on her tiptoes, placing her hands securely on his shoulders as her legs wobble slightly due to their soreness, making his arms wrap around her waist unconsciously to support her. As she moves her head forward with Rick watching her intently, her breath skims over his lips before heading to the shell of his ear.
"Thank you. For everything you've done tonight." She whispers, noting the small shiver he experiences once the words are out.
He swallows, "No problem."
She rolls her eyes good-naturedly at how nonchalantly he's acting about running into a building that was on fire, taking her to the hospital and letting her stay in his home, even though they've only known each other for less than a few hours.
And she thinks after all that, he deserves a reward of some kind.
So Kate leans forward once more, smiling to herself as Rick takes the hint and begins to move closer too. Moments later, their lips touch in a chaste kiss, the two exhaling slightly as their nerves subside. She moves the hands that were perched on his shoulders around his neck, running one hand through his soft, brown hair, and using the other to delicately stroke her fingertips against the pale skin of his neck, which he reciprocates by shifting his hands up and down her back slowly, being mindful of her injuries as he does so.
The kiss grows to be more intense as the two participants continue, opening their mouths and playfully nibbling on each other's bottom lips, causing breathless giggles to rise up. It continues to be full of care and respect and something a little less than love, but definitely has potential.
Once they break away, Kate is smiling more than Rick has ever seen, and he can feel his heart thrumming in his chest as he grins back, still rubbing circles on her back as they rest their foreheads together.
As Rick is broken out of the trance, he voices the concern that has come up in his mind, "Just so we're on the same page, this isn't just some 'oh, my apartment blew up, I almost died, I'm in a crisis' thing?"
Kate's lips purse slightly, "Uh, no-"
"Good." He breathes, his smile increasing tenfold, which in turn makes her grin.
"Good." She repeats, her hazel eyes boring into his blue ones.
They stay in their embrace for a few moments, and Rick is the first to speak again, "So, I should let you have a shower, then get into bed."
She doesn't miss the dejected nature of his voice, but solemnly agrees, "Yeah. But I'll see you for breakfast tomorrow? I'll make it."
His eyes widen, "You don't have to do that."
Kate shrugs, more with her right shoulder than her left, "Consider it a reward."
"Wait, that kiss wasn't the reward?" He teases with an eyebrow raise.
"Not all of it." She lowers her eyes slightly, her voice becoming lower and huskier, "Trust me, Rick, you'll know when I'm fully rewarding you."
He lets out a deep exhale, places a light kiss on her cheek then scurries out of the room, before he ends up staying in the guest room for the rest of the night.
He hears Kate's laugh resonating from behind the closed door.
So I intended for this to be a short oneshot, and it transformed into 4000 words spread over 9 pages. *slow clap*
Please let me know what you think below! It really means a lot. :)
Lou xo