This is my first Castle ficlet, so please be kind!
I have yet another glorious ship to write about!
Takes place shortly after Kate's apartment explodes in Season 2's "Boom!"
Usually, the sight of a naked woman will make a man lose all common sense, enabling him to do things that he might not do in his normal state of mind.
For Richard Castle, it was totally backwards. Seeing Kate Beckett naked in her bathtub, dangerously surrounded by fire, brought him back to reality.
He realized afterwards that he ran through a street without looking, up the stairs, knocked down her apartment door, and made his way through the fiery wreckage around him until he found her. He managed to not make a huge fool of himself as his jacket was wrapped around her lithe, unclad form and he safely got her out.
As he lay in his bed later on, staring at the ceiling in an unsuccessful endeavor to fall asleep, Castle couldn't believe himself. After everything that he had done, he still couldn't bring the words to his mouth. He tried to reason that he would've done that for Lanie, Esposito, or Ryan. Even the captain.
But he wouldn't have felt the same.
He would have done it solely out of concern for their welfare.
He did it for Kate because he unselfishly loved her.
Rick Castle wasn't sure he had ever felt that for anyone outside of his mother and his daughter.
Now, common sense made him realize that he did.
Fin.