She started to panic the moment she heard the clash of metal on metal. Beckett whipped her head around just in time to see her car get slammed into the water, with Castle inside. She didn't pause a moment.

"CASTLE!" she cried. Already having taken down the men in warehouse, she sprinted and dived into the water leaving the man in the car to be dealt with by Agent Sophia Conrad. Why did he have to listen to me? She thought, Why this time did he stay in the car? Since when does he follow my directions?

When she was in her younger days she'd had many swimming lessons, and breathing exercises drilled into her. Thank goodness they had started to kick in. She swam as fast as she possibly could, trying to catch up with the sinking vehicle. The salt water from the pier was grinding at her eyes as she desperately tried to see. When she reached the crown vic Castle was already passed out. Using the side mirror for leverage she smashed her heels into the windshield hoping none of the glass would cut his delicate face. When she finally broke through the glass she could feel the burn and tearing in her lungs from lack of oxygen. He can't die here! Not now! Not when he doesn't know how much I need him!

With the last bit of strength in her, Beckett somehow manages to pull him out of the passenger seat and drag him above water. When she reaches the surface a muscular CIA agent help her get him and herself out of the water. Shivering from the brisk waters of New York she crawls to Castle and gently puts her hand underneath his neck and cups his head while softly whispering, "Stay with me Castle. Stay with me." Similar to what he said to her on that bright sunny day when she was gunned down at her own captain's funeral.

Her cop instincts started to kick in and she quickly but carefully set his head down and hovered hers near his chest. There was no beat; only the raging blood of her own. There was no air; only the ragged breath of her own. There was no noise; only the rushing blood in her ears. She sat up, leaned over his body, placed his hands on his heart, and pushed. 1 2 3... Counting steadily in her head. Where the hell are the paramedics! She needed him alive! 15 16 17…

"Come on Castle please!" she yelled a tearless cry, almost angry and frustrated. She was frustrated. Frustrated that they keep getting into these near death situations; frustrated that her stupid wall was the only this keeping them from being more, and frustrated that she had waited so long to tell him that she remembered, that she loved him. 24 25 26…

"You stay alive Castle! You hear me?" 28 29 30… and two breaths. She put two fingers against his chin and lifted it opening up the airway. Beckett pinched his nose and breathed in life saving air to his body, not even caring their lips were touching.

"Damn it Castle please! I heard you! I remember! I love you Castle! Please…" She started strong but ended in a small whimper. Restart the cycle 1 2 3… A single tear cascaded down her cheek as she bit down the rest. 10 11 12…

Abruptly Castle started coughing and hacking bitterly to get the fiery water out of his lungs. Beckett stopped CPR and cradled his head gently in her icy hands

Speaking softly she said "Castle try to sit up, it will help you get the fluid out." Like he usually does with her, he follows her command. He sits up and leans heavily on Beckett, his head shoving into her shoulder as he coughed.

He spit up a few times, and when his coughing finally slowed she asked "Are you okay?"

He nodded, still leaning against Beckett, her arm around his back supporting him. "What happened?"

"One of the guys in the warehouse somehow got into a car and pushed ours in. I dived in and got you out," she said, not really going into detail at all. All that was going through her head was that he was alive. Did he hear me? It was the one thought that stood out above the rest. It felt like déjà vu. She needed to know but that was for a later time, when half of the CIA wasn't hauling criminals and rouge CIA agents into the other car. "Do you think you can stand?"

"Yeah, give me a sec." He tried to slow down his breathing enough to think and materialize everything that was going on in his crazy writer's brain.

Soon, all thoughts were gone as Kate took her free hand and wrapped it around Castle's, trying to find some sort of comfort for him. Trying to give him, her own strength. It sent shockwaves of butterflies from his stomach up through his left arm and into the top of his hand where she gripped it as if trying to find her own tether to this world.

Carefully she helped him up and steadied him, her hands never leaving where they were. The only person she talked to was the paramedics who checked on Castle and Sophia, and only because they needed a car to drive home with.

Once they were buckled up and pulling out he spoke the only time during the whole trip back home. "I hated that car anyways. Stupid spring."

While trying and mostly failing to hold in her laughter she thought to herself This could go two very different ways tonight. It should be interesting.