"Kate!" Castle kicked down the flaming and blackened door. "Kate!" He yelled again, starting to panic. If he lost her… Richard Castle stopped himself from following that train of thought. He was not going there – Kate Beckett was still alive. She had to be!
"Kate!" Finally he heard it – a slight coughing coming from the bathroom. He ran there to see Kate struggling to sit up in the bathtub. He rushed over.
"Kate! You're alive! … And you're naked…." Castle trailed off, his rescue suddenly turning awkward.
"Castle! Turn around!" Kate ordered. "Give me a towel!" Castle to grab one, but there was only a slight problem.
"Uh… They're on fire."
"What about the robe?" Kate asked.
"That's on fire too. Don't you have anything non-flammable?" Castle quipped trying to lighten up the situation.
"Ugh. Alright, alright. Castle, give me your coat." Castle shrugged off his coat and held it in front of him as he walked forward to give it to Kate.
"Don't look!" Kate warned.
"I'm not!" Castle assured her.
"OK." Kate quickly stood up and wrapped Castle's coat around herself.
"Come on; let's get you out of here and get you looked at." Castle said, putting his arm around her to help her walk. She was obviously hurting.
"No, wait a minute." Kate stopped. "You said the killer was still alive. He did this." Kate gestured to the mess around them. "If he knows that I'm alive, then he'll kill again. But if he thinks I'm dead… That he won…" Kate trailed off, an idea forming in her mind.
"Kate?" Castle asked, concerned.
"He has to think I'm dead. It's the only way to stop all of this. If I die, then his game is over. He has no one to play with." Kate turned to Castle. "I'm going to go underground. Disappear. That way the killer will think I'm dead and stop killing, but I can still hunt him down."
"But what about Ryan and Espesito? Lanie? Captain Montgomery?" Castle asked trying to make her see some sense.
"If they know that I'm actually alive, they only end up tipping the killer off." Kate walked over to her bedroom and retrieved her gun, and managed to find an outfit that hadn't been completely destroyed by the blast. She quickly changed while Castle stood waiting outside in the hall. Something caught her eye, and she bent over to find her mother's wedding ring nestled among the wreckage. She held it up for a moment, then sighing she set it back down again. Finding this would only better confirm the assumption that she was dead. She walked back out into the hall, grim determination on her face.
"You can't tell anyone that I'm alive Castle." Kate said then started toward the back off her apartment where she could slip out the window onto the fire escape and not be seen by the crowd that was already gathering out front. Castle stayed frozen, indecision flashing across his face. Alexis would kill him! Not to mention his mother… but they would also murder him if they ever found out that he had let Kate go off on her one, alone and unprotected. Decision made. Castle ran to catch up to Kate. She hadn't gotten far and she was still clearly hurting. He put his arm around her again, supporting her.
"Castle? What are you doing?" Kate asked.
"I'm coming with you." Castle replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Kate's face registered shock.
"What? No, Caste... I appreciate the offer, but I can't let you do that. It'll be dangerous and who knows how long until I can safely resurface. What about Alexis?" Castle stopped and turned so that he was facing her.
"She'll forgive me. But she wouldn't forgive me if she ever found out that I let you go alone when there's someone out there trying to kill you! And nearly succeeded!" Castle gestured to the wreckage around them. "I. Am. Coming. With you." He told her quietly, meeting her gaze evenly. He was not going to let her talk him out of this. "You need someone to watch your back." Finally Kate nodded.
"OK. Castle, what do you have in your pockets?" Kate asked quickly. In the background, sirens were beginning to wail. They had do get out of here now.
"Huh?" Castle asked, looking confused.
"Anything that will identify you. If this is going to work, they're going to have to think you were here when the bomb went off."
"Oh. Uh…." Castle quickly patted down his pockets and came up with his cell phone and wallet. He gave them to Kate who carefully placed them amidst debris that was still on fire.
"Alexis and my mom knew I was on my way over here." Castle said. When I don't show up…" Castle trailed off and Kate nodded.
"Good. Hopefully that and your wallet and cell phone will convince them…" Kate stopped as she heard the unmistakable voices of Ryan and Espesito shouting outside.
"Come on!" Kate hissed as she grabbed Castle and practically threw him on to the fire escape and jumped out herself, seconds before Ryan and Espesito came bursting into her apartment. They stopped at a distance and watched the scene before them unfold. After a while, Ryan and Espesito came out of the building, looking shocked and grieved as Captain Montgomery, Agent Shaw and the rest of the guys form the precinct arrived. Castle slipped his hand into Kate's as they saw Espesito hold up Kate's mother's ring and point to the building behind him. Kate had been right. With that in there, they assumed she had been home. Then Castle saw his mother and Alexis come running up, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from calling out to them. This time, Kate squeezed his hand. He watched sadly as they learned of Kate's 'death' then the horror spreading as people learned that Castle had been on his way over here, and that they hadn't been able to get a hold of him. Espesito, Ryan and several officers went running back inside the building, while his mother held Alexis. After a longer period of time, they came out again. By this time, the media had gathered, and the news rapidly spread that Richard Castle and Detective Kate Beckett, his inspiration for his latest novel, "Heat Wave" had been murdered by an explosion set off in Beckett's apartment.
"Come on." Kate whispered, touching Castle's shoulder. Castle took one last long look over his shoulder at his distraught daughter and mother then he turned to follow Kate and they disappeared into the night.