A/N: This will be told in the perspective of both characters (still in third person), alternating each paragraph, starting with Castle.
He is told he has 24 hours to live. Approximately, at least. More or less, 24 hours.
Sixteen Hours
His fiancée just told him he has 24 hours to live. He simply has no idea what to do. Kate is right beside him, driving the car back to her house. When they first went to DC together she skipped apartments completely, went straight for a house. Wanted something more permanent. She was so excited when she started the job, but any trace of it is wiped off of her eyes now.
She wordlessly turns, flips her head to the left. The drive from her house to her workplace is five minutes, tops, but it feels like an eternity now. When they pull up in the driveway, she clutches at the steering wheel and lowers her head. They kicked her off the case. Too personal to be involved. She gets hourly updates, but she knows they aren't even looking for the antidote. It's either they find the toxin and save thousands, or find the antidote and save his. The first is almost certain, and those hourly updates won't make her heart feel any lighter.
He watches her take her keys out of the ignition, makes her way to the door without a word. She needs a moment, but he doesn't want to disturb her by talking. She wanders around before ending up in the kitchen, turning on the coffee machine. He bought it for her when she started moving her stuff in, and made sure it was the same model as the one in the precinct.
She turns on the machine, hears it buzzing to life. Makes their regulars, placing his on the counter before sitting down. He grabs his and sits next to her. "I'm sorry," she says, her voice hoarse. "For taking the job, for moving here, for not seeing you in six weeks, for dropping those pictures, for you getting kidnapped, for..." Getting you killed.
"I'm still here, Kate. And I don't plan on going anywhere." He places an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him, her head settling on his chest."It isn't your fault. I came this week. I saw the picture, I didn't give it back, I investigated, and I went into that car with him. None of this is your fault."
"But now you're dying, and there isn't anything I can do about it."
Fifteen Hours
She goes silent after that, her declaration unsettling. When she finishes her coffee she retreats to the bedroom, shutting the door after herself. He stays back, giving her a moment. She won't stay long, he knows, just needs to unwind for a couple minutes.
When she comes back, he's still in the same place as before, tracing the rim of his cup with his index finger. She's taken the ring off her necklace and put it on her finger, as she usually does when she gets home from work. Castle was curious behind the meaning of her ring on her chain, remembering her saying her mother's ring was there for the life she lost.
She sits next to him again, using both her hands to grab one of his. He brings his eyes up to her. "I should call mother and Alexis," he says, already reaching for his phone in his pocket before she stops him.
"You want them to find out from a phone call? We could go back to New York," she says, lowering her hands. "I'm not on the case anymore, it wouldn't be a problem." She stands and he agrees before following, going to their office and to his laptop. They book a flight for two, leaving in a half hour.
Thirteen Hours
The flight is silent, not a word spoken between them, a chasm opening beneath their feet. The past months haven't been easy on either of their parts, but somehow, they managed. She cancelled and then he did, events that were repeated more than once. He wants to believe that seeing her this weekend was a bad idea, but what he told her was true. He couldn't wait to see her anymore. Ever since they got together last year, before DC, the longest they had gone without seeing or talking to each other was a couple of days. He simply would not wait another week.
6 weeks. They didn't see each other in six weeks. Even though she was ecstatic that he came, she regrets him doing it. If he had stayed one more week in New York, they wouldn't be in this position in the first place. Now, she is angry, exhausted, and crazily in love with a man who might die in less than 21 hours.
21 hours. That's approximately how much time he has if they don't find the antidote. It would be a major understatement to say he was scared. And Kate. Kate was the one who had to be strong for him. But she gets the worst of it. If he dies, it will be in a hospital, full of morphine, while she has to deal with the aftermath of it all.
She won't survive his death, and they both know it. She could lose her mother to murder, her father to alcohol, but losing him would be the final stroke. She simply could not go without him. Losing the man who helped her when she was at her darkest would put her back to her position after her mother died, only so, so much worse.
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