As the car plunged into the icy water, the force of the impact threw Beckett and Castle forward. For some reason, the airbags hadn't deployed with the initial impact, and now the seatbelts locking in place were the only thing keeping them from smashing face first into the dashboard. The car continued to sink, nose first, as water seeped in from the engine. Beckett could feel the cold water swirling around her ankles over the tops of her boots.

Beckett asked, turning towards her partner by instinct. There was some sunlight filtering through the murky water. "Castle, you okay?"

Castle nodded his head. "I'm fine." He tugged futilely on the door handle, pushing on the door with his shoulder. "My door won't open."

"It won't," Beckett replied calmly. "The water pressure is too great. We'll crawl into the backseat and then use my gun to shoot the rear window out. It's big enough for both of us to get out. The pressure will finish the job of breaking the glass and then we can swim to the surface."

She and Castle reached for their seatbelts as the water continued to rise past her calves to her knees. "Be careful when you release it. You'll pitch forward, so be prepared." She heard the decisive click of his, followed by the distinctive whoosh as it retracted. She pressed on hers, pulled on the belt, and then simply sat there in shock as it stayed in place. She jammed her thumb onto the latch a few times, trying not to draw attention to her movements.

Castle had started to crawl in between the seats when he realized she wasn't following him; or more accurately, taking the lead, as she so often did. She was still in her seat, which set off warning bells in his head.

He turned back to face his partner, and his voice rose in panic. "Beckett?"

She thought frantically. If she couldn't save herself, at least she could save Castle. "Castle, you go first and then I'll pass you my gun. You can shoot out the window. I'll follow you out."

The warning bells changed into sirens. Beckett never, ever volunteered to follow him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she tried to reassure him. "We're running out of time." Which was true; the water was rising fast and was now at her waist. She pulled her gun out of the holster, keeping it out of the water. "We can't let my gun get wet or it might not fire. We need to hurry."

"As soon as you tell me what's wrong." He stared at her as he sat there between the two front seats, giving every impression of waiting until she caved.

Stubborn, stubborn man! Realizing that arguing would be pointless and waste precious time, she conceded, "I'm stuck, okay? My seatbelt won't release."

"Damnit!" His fears realized, he jabbed the release with his thumb and yanked violently on the belt, cursing softly when it didn't give way. He pressed harder, tugging in every direction before Beckett stopped him.

"Castle," the water was now halfway up her chest, and the still-healing scar on her side started to contract and pulse in the cold. "Castle, you have to save yourself."

"I'm not going anywhere without you," he stated firmly, shaking his head, refusing to even consider the idea.

"Rick," she laid a hand on his forearm, momentarily stilling him. Their eyes met and Beckett was briefly transported back to that spring day in May when she lay on the grass, bleeding out. His eyes were once again roiling with those emotions, a mix of fear and love. To distract them both, she placed her gun in his hand. "My seatbelt is stuck. The seat controls are electrical, so they won't work. There's no way out for me. Just go."

"No!" He practically shouted. "There's always a way. Do you have a knife?" When she shook her head, he tried to quell his panic so he could think. "We'll just have to break the seat," his relief and having a solution was nearly palpable. "I'll get behind you and pull on it, while you push. Once the seat is broken, you can slide out, okay?"

The water was over her breasts, nearly to her neck. "Castle-" She started to protest, but she felt the seat being pulled on by her partner. "Castle, promise me if this doesn't work, you will get out. Think about Alexis and Martha. You have a family."

"So do you," he stated quietly. He wrapped one arm around the headrest and pulled as she pushed back against it. The seat gave way just enough. "Now, Kate!" he ordered, and she began to shimmy her way from under the lap belt, but the angle was awkward and she was only able to move a few inches.

Despite knowing the futility of it, she took a deep breath as the water closed over her head. She heard the muffled sound of two shots, followed by an immediate slackening of her seat belt. She renewed her effort to get free of the restraint. Three more shots went off and she felt the pressure from the water finishing the job of breaking the windshield. Glass and water rushed in to fill the car, and the icy water swirling around her caused her scar to throb painfully. She involuntarily gasped, swallowing a mouthful of river water. She choked and gagged, trying not to breathe in more, but it was too late.

As the darkness claimed her, she thought Please, God, let Castle have made it out, never feeling his hands grab her wrists, pulling her out from the seat and then wrapping an arm around her as he swam towards the surface.

~~CBCBCB~~

Castle spluttered as he broke the surface of the water, carrying an unresponsive Beckett with him. He made sure her face was above the water, before looking around for help

"Hey!" he shouted, trying to get someone's attention. He needed to get Beckett out of the water now. He started swimming one-handed towards the dock, his other arm wrapped around Beckett's chest under her arms. He had only made a few strokes when he heard the sound of a boat engine heading towards them at a high rate of speed. He stopped and waved one arm. "Hey! Help us!"

The boat pulled alongside him and before he realized what was going on, two bodies splashed into the water.

"Harbor Patrol." One of the rescuers announced himself. "We're here to help."

"Save Beckett. She's not breathing."

"We'll take care of her."

The next few minutes passed in a blur as they took Beckett from his arms, and hauled the both of them onto the deck. The next thing he heard clearly was her coughing a few feet away.

Thank God! He crawled over to her, and the officer who had been performing mouth-to-mouth gave way to him. She was lying mostly on her back, with just her head and shoulders turned to the side. He helped her turn more fully onto her side and began rubbing circles on her back as she continued to cough up the river water. Just when he thought she was done, she pushed herself up a little, and crawled to the edge, hanging her head over the side of the boat and proceeded to throw up the remaining water she had swallowed.

One of the Harbor Patrol officers draped a blanket over his shoulders and set one down next to him. "For her," he explained.

Castle looked up at their rescuer. "Thank you." He unfolded the blanket and tenderly covered Beckett's back with it, making sure to keep it from falling in front of her while she was still vomiting.

Beckett's retching eased up, and she began gasping. "Castle?"

"I'm right here, Kate." He placed his hand over hers, attempting to reassure her.

She gripped his hand, squeezing tightly, still gasping and wincing with every breath. "Heating...pad…scar…"

Before Castle could ask, the officer pulled out a small object and handed it to him. "Here, use this until I find something. It's a hand warmer, but it'll do for now."

Castle took it gratefully as the officer stood up and headed into the cabin. Knowing that gentleness was not what was needed right now, he placed the warmer on Beckett's left side where the pain seemed to be originating and pressed down firmly.

"Higher," Beckett gasped, guiding him until it was placed directly over her scar. When the officer returned with a heating pad, Castle removed the warmer, replacing it with the pad. As the heat worked to relax the muscles that had contracted with the cold, her breathing gradually evened out.

The officer, who had been waiting patiently, finally spoke up. "We've got an ambulance on the way to the pier to check you out. You wanna tell me who you are?"

"I'm Detective Kate Beckett, out of the 12th, badge 41319. I need to call my team." Her voice was raspy, not a trace of her usual command.

The officer's demeanor softened. "We were in the area because we had reports of a car going into the river. That yours?"

This time, Castle answered, wanting to spare her the effort. "Yes. A black SUV rammed into us from behind and shoved us in. We're lucky we made it out alive."

The officer stood up again. "All right. I'll make some calls."

After he disappeared from their sight, Castle felt Beckett pulling her hand away from where it was still gripping his. His fingers tightened briefly before releasing her.

She sat up and attempted to drag one hand through her wet hair, before giving up. "Castle," she began, sounding very hesitant.

Castle opened his mouth to make a quip, defaulting to his coping mechanism of humor after the stress of another life or death situation. Beckett forestalled him. Her eyes bored into his, relaying the seriousness of her gratitude. "Thank you. You saved my life. I wouldn't have made it out without you."

"Hey, you're the one who said that's what partners do. You'd have done the same for me."

They spent the rest of the ride to the docks in silence.