Ok, so this is a rewrite of my original story, the sound of a gun. I read through it the other day and realised that it needed some major changes.

Summary: In a dark, abandoned warehouse, everything changes.

Disclaimer: Castle and all of it's characters belong to ABC and Andrew. W. Marlow. I just steal them from time to time :)

Please leave a review, let me know what you think.

The Written Rebel.

The gravel crunched as the car pulled to a stop outside the warehouse.

Kate shot Rick a glance as she killed the engine. "I'm going to need you to focus in there Castle." "You're not going to tell me to stay in the car?"

"Things change," she replied with a small smile, "Besides, would you listen if I did?" She opened her door and stepped out, taking her Kevlar with her and handing Rick's to him. Rick grinned and followed her, strapping the vest snugly to his chest.

"This is where Marzone ran his operations?" Rick asked.

"What were you expecting?"

"Cameras, lasers, thugs. Electric fences and some ninja monkeys at least." Kate smiled as she turned away from Rick and reached for her weapon.

"He's a mobster, Castle, not a James Bond villain." She heard him sigh dramatically as she pushed the door to the warehouse open, her hand still on her gun.

The warehouse was large and empty. The grime on the windows allowed only the smallest amount of sunlight through. He stared around, looking for danger. The shadows seemed to writhe, like the souls of trapped demons, begging for release. He shivered slightly and looked away.

"It looks empty. I'm gonna call it in." Kate dropped her hand from her weapon and turned back toward the doors.

Rick heard the slightest scuffing noise coming from the other end of the warehouse. He would have dismissed it, had the warehouse not creeped him out as much as it had. As it was, he didn't say anything, just looked into the shadows, trying to penetrate their depths.

"You comin' Castle?" Kate asked over her shoulder.

"Yeah..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... Nothing," he turned back toward her and smiled, "I just though I heard-" Thud. They both whipped around. Kate reached for her gun but stopped immediately. It was Marzone.

"Detective," he nodded at Kate, "take your hand away from your weapon." Kate slowly lifted her hands.

"You gonna shoot me Marzone?" Kate said.

"Oh detective, don't be like that." Marzone smiled, "I don't really want to shoot you, you know."

Rick took a slow step forward, moving as quietly as he could.

"Then put down the gun. You're looking at murder 1 here Marzone. That means lethal injection. You put the gun down and I'll put in a good word for you with the DA."

"Don't lie to me detective. I don't like being lied to." He tensed, pointing the gun at Kate's head.

"NO!" Rick moved with quick strides, placing himself in front of Kate.

"Castle, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she shouted. He ignored her.

"You wanna shoot someone, Marzone, shoot me."

"Now how can I ignore such a beautiful proposal? I think I just might pretty boy." Marzone repositioned his gun.

Rick held out his arms and took a step forward. Kate wouldn't pull out her weapon, Rick knew that Marzone would shoot him if she did, and he knew that she wasn't willing to let him get shot because of her. He would have to get himself shot.

Out the corner of his eye, he saw Kate moving, trying to get a better shot at Marzone.

"I don't think you will." He said calmly, "You see, I play a lot of poker Marzone. I can read people. Right now, you're terrified. You won't shoot me." He took another step forward, trying to distract him.

Marzone laughed. "Terrified? Me?" he laughed some more and Rick took another step toward him.

"What the hell are you doing Castle? Get out of the way!" Rick could hear the terror in her voice, even pumped full of adrenaline as he was, he was still that connected to her.

"You're a coward Marzone." Rick said, trying to bait him, "You can't fight me like a man, so you'll stand back there and put a bullet in me? Then do it. Prove that you've got balls. Shoot me." Rick knew that he had hit a nerve. He smiled.

"Just for that, I'm gonna make you hurt." He smiled sadistically and re-aimed his gun. He pulled the trigger.

The sound of the gunshot ripped through the air, nearly drowning out Kate's scream. Blood splattered as the bullet buried itself in Rick's shoulder.

His eyes snapped open and he turned his head slowly to face Marzone.

He took a slow step forward, grinning death at the man in front of him. He saw Marzone's gun lift. The man aimed it at his head this time, trembling slightly.

A second gunshot rang through the warehouse and Marzone crumpled. Rick stopped and turned to Kate, a grimace on his face.

"Rick!" She shouted, moving toward him. Rick opened his mouth, intending to smile, to tell her that he had her back. Always.

All that escaped his lips was, "Kate..." His knees buckled and he hit the floor. He lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness for what felt like hours. The whole time he could feel Kate's hands at his shoulder, at his arm. Her tears were falling freely, landing on his chest.

"Stay with me Rick, stay with me! Don't you dare leave!" Kate was yelling at him, over and over.

"I'll never leave you Kate. I love you Kate. Always Kate." He tried to say, but he couldn't get the words past his lips.

He felt hands, suddenly lifting him off the floor. The pain lanced through the right side of his body and his voice suddenly broke free. He was screaming.

Before he could roll onto his side to escape the pain, Kate was there. Her hands were at his shoulder, soothing him. There was a smile on her face, but her eyes betrayed her panic. As the medics started to roll the stretcher away, Rick opened his mouth.

"I love you Kate." He managed to croak out. He knew that it was a bad idea; he knew that she wasn't ready to say it back yet. But he also knew that he could be dead in the next few hours, she had to know. As they lifted the stretcher, he heard the impossible.

"I love you too, Rick... Always."