Disclaimer: Never owned it, never will.
May the dance never end, and the music never stop.
Take my hand, take a breath. Pull me close and take one step
Keep your eyes locked on mine. And let the music be your guide.
Won't you promise me (now won't you promise me, that you'll never forget)
We'll keep dancing (to keep dancing) wherever we go next
The people of New York City were probably holed up in their cozy heated apartments as the temperatures dropped well below zero. No one wanted to be outside. Well, no one, except maybe one Detective Katherine Beckett who would rather brace the cold weather if it meant being able to take a breath of fresh air, than being stuck in a hot, uncomfortable vent in a run down, condemned building in the middle of nowhere. Wading through the thick snow sounded a lot better than running – no, crawling for her life.
What was she thinking? Running gung ho into this stupid place in search for a witness, with no back up? You'd think she'd have learned by now. On her part, she justified, it was just a witness, not even a potential suspect. It's never "just a" anything. But she was tired, they all were. All she had been thinking about was getting home to her warm Castle. Warm and cuddly Castle. She'd sent him ahead, in fact, so he'd be the right amount of toasty to tuck into. Bad plan, as it turned out.
She'd immediately been ambushed by 5 men – deceptive witness included – and though she managed to escape with only a few, albeit large scratches to show for the trouble, she was deep in it. Trouble. Because of course she was running out of bullets. Of course, in the scuffle earlier, she lost her phone – which, thankfully was on silent mode. Hopefully the baddies wouldn't notice, and that would leave her with some chance that her boys would track her (eventually). Because of course, she hadn't called it in. Really, they ought to gift her a tracking bracelet. It would make everyone's lives a little easier.
Thinking about all these things was not helping Kate as she continued to crawl though. For a condemned building, it sure had great heating. She assumed the bad guys had managed that somehow. But the vent system was heated up. Definitely beyond toasty. She'd tossed aside her jacket about half an hour ago. Wiping the sooty sweat from her forehead, she forged forward, wincing as the side of her ankle made contact with metal. Oh, and a sprain. Lovely.
The heat was starting to do a number on her. Only another 10 minutes later, and she was imagining Castle. Just like all that time ago when she was hanging by her fingers, thinking it was all about to end. At that time, she hadn't known it was her imagination. It was more of a hallucination, really (Halluci-Castle), and she only realized he wasn't there when Ryan snapped her out of it. This time, she knew he was hallucination because he was licking a popsicle. Even HalluciCastle strove to annoy her. Typical. But just like Castle, HalluciCastle was encouraging her – or goading her by waving the popsicle around as incentive, she wasn't entirely sure – to get the heck out of there. She took a deep breath, blew a piece of hair out of her face, and took another step forward.
It had been somewhere around an hour and a half since she got here. She had to hand it to the baddies, they were persistent in their efforts to find her. Twice or thrice she had to stop her advances when she heard them wandering about below. Once she even found a room with the vent open where she could have gotten out to make a run for it, but she paused just in the nick of time when she saw two of the gun wielding thugs enter, talking as they tried to hatch a plan to scope out the building.
She crawled over to another vent, and lay her head down, lying to herself that it was to listen for any incoming idiots. Truth of the matter was, she was exhausted, hurt, and overheated. Also caffeine deprived, but that was another matter entirely. The vent provided a little bit of fresh air, and though it helped a little, it wasn't enough to reenergize her. All she wanted to do was fall asleep. Maybe they would find her. And maybe when they found her, it wouldn't be too late. She hoped.
It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you
It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do
And with every step together, we just keep on getting better
So can I have this dance (can I have this dance). Can I have this dance
It was then that she gave herself time to think about Castle. About everything they had been through. Sometime just after her shooting, she had thought about telling Castle that it was enough. The charade would not work, and that he had to stop following her. It was dangerous, the game they played. It wasn't just for the books anymore, and they all knew it. That line of thinking pretty much evaporated when he found himself (and Martha) stuck in a bank heist. Really the man was probably safer with her, even with all the people that possibly wanted her dead, than he was alone. They were both safer with each other. They really gave 'match made in heaven' a new meaning.
He called her extraordinary. She smiled, thinking about how he was just that. Unique, one in a million, limited edition. Her limited edition, ruggedly handsome, intelligent Castle. Then she frowned, puzzled. She decided that she really was going cuckoo in the overheated duct.
Take my hand, I'll take the lead. And every turn will be safe with me
Don't be afraid, afraid to fall. You know I'll catch you threw it all
And you can't keep us apart (even a thousand miles, can't keep us apart)
'Cause my heart is (cause my heart is) wherever you are
With that decision made, she lay her head down once more, only to be awakened by the frantic whisperings of HalluciCastle.
"Kate, come on. We have to get out of here," he whispered urgently.
"Shut up, Castle. You won't even give me your popsicle!"
Castle frowned, concerned about her mental health. "When have I ever refused you my popsicle?"
"Right now! You were all up in my face with it!" she said with her eyes closed. Confused HalluciCastle looked very vivid.
"No, I wasn't."
"Yes, you were."
"I think I'd know where my popsicle –" he broke off, brought back to the urgency of the situation by the noise of something heavy falling. "You can have whatever you want, just get the hell down here!"
Kate opened her eyes to see that the vent had opened. Her hallucinations sure were getting powerful. Either that or –
"Castle?"
"No, MacGyver," Castle replied, rolling his eyes. "Of course it's me, who were you expecting to come save your stubborn butt"
She blinked, thinking to choose between tackle hugging him and slapping him. Instead of either, she said, "Did you bring coffee?"
"Oh my God, now it really not the time! Did you hurt your head?"
"Um. Yes, I think so. Banged it trying to get up here."
He scoffed, muttering to himself, "Should have expected it with our luck." Looking up to her, he said a little more forcefully, "I promise to find and, or make you as many coffee flavored popsicles as you'd like if you get down here."
For a moment it looked as if she was seriously considering his offer. He was seriously considering getting up on a table and dragging her out of there. After a moment she replied, "I don't think I can, Rick. I twisted by ankle. I won't be able to jump down."
His breath caught. Here they were cracking jokes, and it was bad situation, getting worse. She was hurt, and all he wanted to do was get her home safely, and kiss her bruises away. Her slightly defeated face spurned him into action.
With a small smile, he positioned himself, putting his arms out. "Jump with your feet first, Kate. I won't let them touch the ground. I'll catch you before you fall. Trust me. You've got this. And I've got you."
She smiled back at him, at his love for her and without a moment's hesitation, started to turn around in the dingy duct.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and slipped out of the vent, and into the arms of the man she loves.
Even though she trusted him, her eyes were screwed tight in anticipation for the onslaught of pain. But true to his word, he caught her, and it didn't hurt a bit. Also didn't hurt that she was being held snugly in his embrace as he swayed with her slightly. She hung on tightly, her hands fisting into his jacket as she breathed him in. This was a whole different kind of heat. One she could easily have lost – yet again, if he hadn't found her.
It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you
It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do
And with every step together, we just keep on getting better
So can I have this dance (can I have this dance)
Can I have this dance
"Huh," she said, pulling back from his slow dance. "How'd you find me?"
"ESP."
"ESP," she repeat flatly.
"Extrasensory perception. My heart just hones in on the location of yours."
"Sap."
"Uh-uh. Smart. If it were possible to do it, I would. More practically, though, I left my phone in your pocket."
"You did?" she asked, feeling around.
"Uh-huh! I finally managed to do it without you figuring it out."
"I was probably just distracted."
"You were."
"By you?"
He chuckled quietly, "By my… popsicle."
She pinched him as her nose twitched. "Not funny."
"It was, a little. You're going to have to elaborate on that later. After we get out of here."
Kate tucked her head into the crook of his neck, just for a moment. "I've never been so glad at your attempts to distract me from work."
"Me either," he said softly, holding her close for another second. "Now come on, we have to go."
Oh no mountains too high enough, oceans too wide
'Cause together or not, our dance won't stop
Let it rain, let it pour. What we have is worth fighting for
You know I believe, that we were meant to be
Castle was immediately at her side, holding her up when she lost her footing with just the first step. "I've got you, I've got you," he reiterated as she breathed through the pain.
"Left ankle isn't doing too well."
"No problem. I can carry you bridal style," he said, gesturing a cradle with his hands.
Kate rolled her eyes. "And have you throw your back? I don't think so, Romeo."
"Piggy back?"
She shot him a look at that. "How about we stick to you supporting me?"
"No fun. But fine. As you wish," he said with a bow, and came to stand at her left side, holding on to her waist with one hand and her free hand with his other. Her left arm held on to his shoulder for more support. They tried out a couple of steps successfully.
"You good?" he asked, his face emanating concern.
"Yeah," she smiled. "I'm good." She tugged on his shoulder just a bit, and gave him a quick peck on his lips when he leaned down to her level. Before he could do more than quirk his lips, she started ahead, his body seamlessly in sync. "Are we alone?"
He growled, "Why, yes, detective. Wanna have your way with your knight in shining armor?"
Kate snorted. "You wish."
"Hey, I'm not the one conjuring popsicles here."
"You're not going to drop that anytime soon, are you?"
"Nope," he said with a grin.
"I meant, there are five armed men out there, at my count. A sappy writer, though with heroic intentions, and a wounded detective might be an uneven match here."
"I didn't come here alone. Do you think I'm nuts?" he looked at her, to find her glaring back. "Oh, uh. No offense."
"None taken," she muttered. "I was just coming here to talk to a witness."
"It's never 'just' with us."
She chuckled, reminded of her own musings. "Yeah. Should have known better. You have no idea how glad I am that you're here."
"You have no idea how glad I am that you're safe, and almost intact. We've got to check you out for a concussion. No arguments."
"I'm not arguing."
"For once."
"Do you want to sleep on the couch?"
"Good luck trying to pry me off you at night."
"I can't decide if you're being extra annoying tonight, or extra sweet."
"Let's go with extra sweet," he grinned adorably, ruining the effect by adding, "I'll even fill any cavities that need filling,"
"I almost went with extra sweet."
"Damn."
"Hold on, I hear something."
"Must be the guys."
"May not be," she whispered, looking around the corner. She took out his phone from her pocket, still slightly miffed that she didn't realize it was in there. To think she could have been out of here a couple of hours earlier.
He stopped her with his hand on hers. "If it's the guys, or even if it's not, you may give away their position."
She cursed under her breath. "I'll message them. Won't draw as much attention, in the off chance that they've left the volume up. But we better move."
"Yeah. Look, don't worry. Our boys called additional back-up. For all we know, they might already be rounded off. I don't know, 'cause I broke away in search of you," he ended sheepishly.
She gave him another slightly longer lasting kiss for that, her lips gliding over his soft welcoming ones. When she broke away, he followed to give her a kiss on her cheek, and took up his position again.
"The exit is just up ahead after two more corners. We'll have to make a run for it, 'cause it's all open after that. We probably have a few guys there waiting for us, but just in case – "
"Got it. We can do this," she said, and suddenly turned into him, grabbing his face. "Rick, thank you. Thank you for being stupid enough to follow me."
His eyes met hers, soft in their genuine gratitude and what could only be described as love, and he smiled. "Always. I can't dance without my partner, can I?"
"Well you could," she joked, "But it would look pretty stupid if you were dancing alone." They moved around the corner after clearing it. He held on with a firm grip, yet not too tight so as to hurt her. It reminded her of the care he took while extracting her from her blown up apartment ages ago. There was nothing for it. She felt safe in his presence, no matter what the situation.
"Please, woman. I've got moves."
She hummed, low in his ear in response. "Can't argue with that," she said as they rounded the last corner.
It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you (like you)
It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do (way we do)
And with every step together, we just keep on getting better
So can I have this dance (can I have this dance). Can I have this dance. Can I have this dance.
"About time!" came Esposito's voice.
"Oh, look who finally showed up."
"What? We were trying to be careful," Castle replied.
"Yeah, that's what I said and next thing you know, Sarah Grace happened," Ryan said with his eyebrows up. He cleared his throat. "Beckett, you need a medic?"
Castle's frantic head nodding almost resembled a woodpecker's. She rolled her eyes. "Would you relax, I was going to say yes."
"So, not no?" he joked, earning a slap to the back of his head, as they walked into safety, watching as the five men were hauled into custody. She was marrying him, this man who knew how to find her, how to make her feel like she was dancing on clouds, to the eternal music of love. She was also sure she had a concussion for having such sappy thoughts. But she was also sure of him.
A/N: You must be wondering, where on Earth did this come from? Well. My friend, Fels, gave me a song fic as a prompt, for a dance fic. I agreed. As it turns out, it was a song from high school musical, and for the life of me, I couldn't imagine Castle and Beckett dancing to it, after watching the HSM video. So I had them dance a different kind of dance, one they are more adept at. It's basically a completely random fic, that goes very strangely to the lyrics, if you squint a bit.
Also, gotta thank Fels, cause I've been meaning to get back to writing(which explains why I'm rusty, btw), but I just couldn't until now. Also probably should apologize to Fels. She did not see this coming. X)