Richard Castle could feel Kate shivering, and even though he was freezing and numb himself, he could still feel the coldness of her cheek seeping through the front of his shirt. She was holding on to him tightly, the fabric of his shirt wadded into her clenched fingers. She managed to twist enough to turn her face up to him. "I just want you to know... how much I lo..." The last word she spoke disappeared silently into the frigid air. Her eyes fluttered closed, and her head slid back down to come to it's resting spot on his chest.
"Kate?" He touched his hand to her cold cheek, shaking her slightly. "Kate. Stay with me." He held her close as he wiggled out of his coat. He placed it over her, and tucked her and the coat even closer and held her tight.
He leaned back against the cold metal of the freezer wall, only semi conscious that it probably was not a good sign that it didn't feel that cold to him anymore. He closed his eyes, hyper aware of every shallow breath Kate breathed. In his head, he did a little dance of joy every time he heard that tell tale sign that she was still alive, and had not died in his arms. Even in his imagination, the dance was a little stiff and sluggish from the cold.
He simply could not let her go this way. Not like this, not without saying the things he should have said, and not with her half finished statement floating through his thoughts, taunting him with it's possibilities. Life altering professions or meaningless ramblings? None of it would matter if he let himself close his eyes and drift off like he desperately wanted to. Chances are neither of them would ever wake up. He would never know. So he hung on to her as tightly as he could, and he kept up the running mantra in his head... 'I just want you to know how much I love you?', 'how much I love being your partner?', 'how much I love you?', 'how much I love bonfires?', 'how much I love you?', 'how much I love your coat?', ... "
He felt himself being dragged under by an incredible weight that he could no longer fight through. He pressed a kiss into her hair, and noticing the chill, covered it with his cheek. "I know this is probably not the best timing, but...I love you, Kate. I'm so sorry I waited so long." He pulled her impossibly closer, and locked his hands behind her back, ensuring that whatever happened, they would be together. He closed his eyes and let the welcoming numbness consume him.
Detective Esposito was the first to swing the heavy door open. Everybody tried to rush through at the same time, and they all stopped abruptly when they saw the couple huddled together in the back corner of the freezer. Esposito and Ryan glanced at each other, neither of them wanting to be the first to confirm the fate of their friends. An arm went around Lanie. None of them hesitated to defer to Captain Montgomery, who had already taken a deep breath, and started the dreaded walk to the other end of the freezer.
The four of them had tried to persuade Josh to stay at the precinct, but all of them knew that would never happen. He had aborted his overseas trip to stay and earn relationship points with Kate. He knew he was on borrowed time with her, and he saw this whole situation as the ideal way to prove that he can be there for her. So, against orders, he followed in his car to the warehouse where they suspected they might find Kate. They had all insisted Josh stay back in his car, but of course, he didn't follow that suggestion either.
Josh lunged forward when everyone else hesitated, parting the small group. Montgomery tried to catch him by the arm, but he pulled free and never stopped. The rest of the group followed directly on his heels.
Lanie was the first to break the silence with a small gasp. "Oh my god." Her hand covered her mouth. Esposito tried to stop her, but she shrugged him off, and squatted down in front of Kate and Rick. Josh did the same, but he was stone cold silent.
Rick was sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up in front of him. Kate was on her side pressed against him. Her face rested on his chest. Her legs were curled in front of her and resting over his hips. She was clutching his shirt with both hands. His coat was pressed tightly around her, and his arms were locked around her, keeping her close. His head was bent foreward, his cheek still resting on Kate's head.
There were ice droplets in Kate's hair and eyelashes. Her skin was deathly pale. Rick's skin held a little more color, but it was tinged in gray, his lips blue, the knuckles on his fingers white where he was clutching Kate to him.
Lanie touched Kate's cheek, and flinched, looking at Josh as she put her hand on Rick's neck. Josh nodded, and turned to the three men standing behind him. "Call an ambulance."
"This is not possible. They have been in here too long." She was amazed that they held on. She touched Castle's ice cold hand.
Ryan turned, and stepped out of the freezer to make the necessary calls. Josh turned, and ran out behind him, calling over his shoulder, "Get them out of there, now. I am getting my emergency kit out of my car. Bring them outside."
Esposito knelt down by Lanie, who was trying without success to gently pry Castle's hands free of Kate. Lanie brushed a tear away with the back of her arm. "Look at them. . ."
He touched her shoulder. "Why don't you go get some blankets out of our cars. Help Josh get ready. He is going to need your help until the ambulances show up. We can handle this."
Lanie hesitated, touching both of their faces. She got up, still in shock over the roller coaster of emotions she went through in only five minutes.
Ryan returned, and it took all three of them to untangle the pair. Esposito quickly, but gently freed Kate from Castle's embrace. He wrapped her in Castle's coat, and picked her up. He carried her out of the freezer, and out of the warehouse and into the afternoon where it was just barely warmer than the temperature of the freezer. Josh took her from him, and carried her into the waiting SUV, which was running with the heater blasting. He pulled her into his lap, and replaced Castle's coat with the extra blankets they had gathered.
The three men were able to coax Castle back into consciousness, but he was weak and had to be helped out of the building. His first words were asking after Kate, and he had to be reassured repeatedly that she was still alive. They assured him that she would be fine, and that help was on the way. They looked at each other, each hoping that the other had faith that what they were telling him was true.
When Lanie saw them coming out, she rushed to Castle and wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a warm hug. It was very brief, then she pulled away and looked into his barely focused eyes. She punched him in the arm, hard. "You are a stupid man, Richard Castle. Stupid or blind." She turned and headed back to the SUV, where the ambulance had just arrived, and they were buckling Kate to a stretcher.
Castle rubbed his arm absently, calling after her. "Oww, what was that for? If you haven't noticed, I am practically frozen. Are you trying to shatter my arm into a thousand pieces?" He started to stumble in Lanie's path, toward Kate and the crowd standing around her, but Captain Montgomery and Detective Ryan exchanged a glance, and changed his course.
Ryan pointed to the ambulance, and the waiting EMTs. "Sorry, Romeo, you have your own fan club waiting over there."
"I'm fine. I'll be fine. I need to be with Beckett." He looked back over his shoulder, not able to get any kind of confirmation of her well being.
They pulled him forward again. "And you will be, as soon as they say you can."
Thanks for reading. I'm sure there are dozens of these out there. I may add another chapter, there are a few other random ideas I could incorporate in one more chapter. Let me know what you think!