A/N: An AU take on Cops & Robbers inspired by the seventh season finale of Criminal Minds, from which some dialogue has been borrowed. I imagine it set somewhere in season two or three, but it's left ambiguous so you can insert it in whichever pre-season you'd like.

The day started out as any other, and now here he stands, in front of a bank being held up by three masked assailants. Of the hostages: his mother, who earlier insisted he didn't need to accompany her on what was to be a quick errand. In and out.

"Castle," Beckett says, resting a hand on his shoulder. She'd begged him to stay at the precinct, but the efforts were futile. He knew he wasn't staying away, and she knew there was nothing she could do to make him. "We'll get her out of there, okay?"

It's not the 12th's jurisdiction, hostage negotiations, but still he stands outside a hoard of police cars with Beckett and the boys. The actual hostage negotiators, the FBI agents who are on scene, aren't thrilled to have them there at first. They're told to leave, but they stand their ground (the agent in charge's face softens when Castle tells them his mother is inside, and he feels as though that got through) and the agents relent. It doesn't hurt to have a few pairs of extra hands around, anyway.

"Yeah," he nods, blowing out a breath.

They don't know much of anything, except there are three of them. Two guys and a woman. They all wear face card masks; the woman the Queen of Diamonds, one man the King of Hearts, and the third the Jack of Clubs.

As they start moving around the scene, trying to get any sort of vantage point into the bank, there are sounds of open fire. Grabbing her gun, Beckett turns towards the side entrance to find two of the suspects hovering around the door, guns drawn.

King of Hearts fires and hits Ryan, sending a jolt of panic through Castle's veins as he twists to steady him. Beckett doesn't hesitate before returning fire; she hits Jack of Clubs in the stomach while his arms are raised, ready to shoot, and they watch as he goes down. She expects retaliation but instead King of Hearts drags the man back inside and closes the door behind them.

"Ryan," she calls, immediately swiveling around and bending to the man sitting propped against one of the cars. "Hey, are you okay?"

The man in question grimaces as the three of them hover. "I'm good," he grits out, face scrunched together. "It's just a graze."

"One hell of a graze, bro," Esposito says, both hands holding his shirt to his partner's wound. "They need to check you out."

"What? No, I'm fine," Ryan insists, moving to stand only to have two sets of hand pushing him down. "Guys, really."

Beckett purses her lips. "I'll go see if they have a first aid kit. For now."

She returns a few minutes later, a large kit in her arms. Apparently the hostage negotiators are less than thrilled one of them has been injured; they're not really supposed to be here, after all, but she says she managed to quell the concern. It's just a graze, and though in pain Ryan's fine.

Once he's bandaged up, the four of them make their way back over to their own cars, huddling around the hood to contemplate what to do.

"What made them fire?" Castle asks, impatience coloring his tone. He wants to get his mother out of there, away from these crazy gunmen. "We weren't even going inside, and they still took the risk to shoot?"

"Looks like they were trying to escape out the side door," Esposito says. "We got in their way."

They're at a loss. The suspects haven't called with demands yet, which is uncommon in hostage situations such as this. They obviously have a plan—they'd be dumb not to—and the longer they go without hearing from the trio, the more worried each of them becomes.

"Beckett," the head agent calls, motioning for her to join him in the control val. "We've identified the two men. The Sutton brothers, Oliver and Aaron. They've done time for bank robbery in the past, mainly small branches in rural communities."

"So this is new for them." The man nods. "How were they identified?"

"Like this," he says, nodding to one of the screens in front of him. She follows his gaze and finds the suspects have unmasked themselves. King of Hearts, now known as Oliver Sutton, hovers over his brother, the one she shot. He's bleeding out.

"They're getting cocky," Beckett concludes. "Think nothing can touch them, so it doesn't matter if we know who they are or not. What about Queen of Diamonds?"

He shakes his head. "No one's able to find out who she is. No match with facial recognition."

Beckett sighs, crossing her arms as her gaze lands on the screen once more. Queen of Diamonds' face fills the camera, a sly smirk on her face as if she knows they have no idea who she is.

Maybe she does.

Aaron Sutton dies.

Their first demand comes in the form of a furious phone call from Oliver. They want a paramedic, a doctor, someone to come help his brother, and so they send in an agent disguised as a paramedic to work on him. When the agent is unable to save the man, Oliver shoots him in a rage. The agent dies.

"I have a feeling things are about to go from bad to worse," Ryan says, cradling his injured shoulder. "With his brother dead? Absolutely worse."

Castle could scream, if only his throat wasn't so dry. One of the suspects, dead. One of the agents, dead. They don't know if any of the hostages are dead, only that there have been multiple shots. There are cameras inside, but many of the hostages are out of range, hidden from the lens. They watch on as the remaining brother begins to crack over the death.

The second demand comes about a half hour after Aaron dies.

"I want the cop who shot Aaron."

Castle's gaze immediately flies to Beckett, horror written across his face. But she doesn't seem all that surprised. It's the determination and fire he sees swirling around her eyes that has a chill run down his spine.

He knows her, and that scares him.

"What you're asking is difficult," the hostage negotiator says.

But Oliver huffs. "I want the cop who shot Aaron and I'll send out some of the hostages. A show of good faith, isn't that what you said?"

"Sending out hostages is a great first step to resolving this issue, but we can't send in someone else in to be killed."

Silence. "Send in the cop, or I shoot a hostage every sixty seconds."

There's a shot, a muffled scream, and then the line goes dead.

"I'll go in," Beckett rushes out, and yeah, that's what he was afraid she'd say. "It's me he wants. I'm the one who started this."

Ryan shakes his head. "You didn't start this. This isn't about you. Risking your life isn't going to bring them back."

"If you go in there, you die," Castle counters, inching closer. His entire body is buzzing. "You killed his brother, Beckett, what do you think he wants you for? A talk?"

Esposito nods. "He's right, boss. This is a suicide mission."

"I have to side with your team, Detective Beckett," the agent says. "We cannot send you in there, knowing their intentions are to harm you."

"They just killed a hostage, and we have about 45 seconds before he kills another if I don't go in there," she retorts, voice firm. "Your mother is in there, Castle. We want to get her, and everybody else, out."

Castle stiffens at the mention of his mother. He knows she's in there; this horrifying fact hasn't escaped him for a second. And as much as he needs to get her out of this alive, he needs Beckett to stay alive. Losing her is not an acceptable compensation for getting his mother out.

It's all or nothing, not one for the other.

Beckett starts to move away from the car, and Castle's heart almost breaks free from his chest. "Beckett," he yells, but she's too quick. By the time the others realize what she's doing, she's already walking towards the bank's entrance with her hands up. "Beckett!"

When he realizes she's taken off her gun, placed it on the hood of the car, he loses it. She's walking right into a trap, a sure fire death, and he can't let her do it.

"Beckett, no!" His voice breaks as he makes a run towards the bank, but this time he's stopped. Ryan, with his good arm, and Esposito hold him back, keep him a safe distance away from the line of fire. "Kate!"

The last thing he sees, blurry behind a fresh wave of tears, is Beckett opening and disappearing behind the door.

Castle breaks free of their grasp and runs in the opposite direction, not towards the bank but into the control van. There are cameras in the bank, screens in the van, and he'll be able to watch.

"What is she doing?" the agent now manning the screens asks. "We told her not to go in! There are other ways to get these hostages out."

"She thinks this is the most efficient way," he manages, eyes glued to the screen. He feels Ryan and Esposito come up behind them, the three of them watching with bated breath as Beckett inches further into the bank. Her hands are still raised, and she's talking, but they can't hear. "What are you doing, Kate?"

"You wanted me, I'm here," she says. Her voice is calm, unwavering as she tries to assess the situation. "Now you can let some of them go."

"Do it."

Queen of Diamonds smirks from the sideline before stalking up to Oliver, stepping into his space and calling him boss in a way that has Beckett questioning whether the men were really in charge at all. From the looks of it, she seems to be in charge, but playing a game.

She steps forward, gun still in hand, and shoves at a woman's back. "You, with the kids," she growls, nodding towards the door. "Go."

Beckett watches with relief as the mother and her two young children flee the bank, running out the door and away from danger. If anything, she knows she's managed to save those three.

"What's your name?" Oliver asks, eyes boring into hers.

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD."

He shoots.

"Beckett!"

His scream pierces the air, along with the horrified gasps of everyone else in the van the second Beckett goes down. Moments later, the feed goes out, picture replaced with nothing but gray static and white noise.

"Where was she shot?" he croaks out, panic searing through his chest, fear curling around his ribs. Truth is, he's pretty sure he saw where she was shot. But he wants to be wrong, is praying he's wrong, and so he needs someone else to say it. "Ryan. Espo. Where was she shot?"

"She was wearing a vest," Ryan says in lieu of an answer, his voice full of gravel. He'd forgotten she was wearing a vest. "She might be okay."

Might be.

"We have to get in there," he demands, looking from the boys to the agents in charge. "Right now. We have to get her out right now!"

"We don't have eyes in there anymore! We don't know what's going on!"

Esposito bristles, a ball of rage standing beside him. "I don't care. She's our partner, our friend. We're not leaving her in there to bleed to death while the feds figure out their next move!"

He barrels out of the van, Ryan on his heels and Castle trailing right behind. The hostage negotiator is still yelling about how this isn't their jurisdiction and she ran in there against orders, knowing what she was getting into. But that doesn't matter—this is Beckett; she was always going to go in, always going to sacrifice herself to save someone else, especially when it's her they asked for.

Voluntary or not, they're not leaving her.

She hits the floor with a thud, pain radiating throughout her body. It hurts, breaths coming in progressively difficult choppy bursts.

Rolling her head, she makes eye contact with—oh. A horrified Martha. And a handful of other petrified hostages. At least she's okay. The older woman's hands cover her mouth, pain etched in her features, and she wishes she could reassure her, tell her this is all going to be okay, but she can feel herself blacking out.

She's not sure it will be.

Fading in and out of consciousness, she hears bits and pieces of their conversation.

"There are cops and feds out there," Queen of Diamonds says, staring out the slits in the blinds. "We're screwed. Nice heads up, Oliver."

"I don't want to die in here either! Ever think it was your count that was off?"

Count? They must have been counting down the seconds until the alarm would sound, until the cops would be notified of a break-in.

"We're all gonna die if we don't get out of here. You shot a cop," Queen of Diamonds spits. "That wasn't a part of the plan. If hostages are causalities, fine, but cops? What the hell were you thinking?"

"Shut up!"

They're turning on each other. Oliver's already snapped; the loss of his brother spurred it on, brought on a need for revenge which he fed by shooting her. And now she's questioning him, blaming him, and if she's the leader as Beckett suspects, it's slowly chipping away at what little resolve he has left.

As the pain intensifies, the feeling of blood seeping through her clothing, the ability to breathe gets harder.

The last thing she registers is someone pressing on her wounds, applying pressure.

"A dead cop won't be much of a negotiation tool," the voice says, and she peels her lids open briefly to find the face of a man she doesn't know. It's not one of the robbers.

She has to—he knew this was going to happen. He knew, and in the back of her mind she knew too, but chose to ignore it. She has to...

"Tell..." she rasps out, face scrunching with the pain. "Tell him...I'm sorry."

And then nothing.

They're running up to the front door when the building blows, smoke and flames filling the air. The blast sends everyone falling to the concrete, debris flying over their heads, bits and pieces knocking into their bodies.

An alarm sounds, loud and constant as it alerts everyone to the blast, to the fire that's inevitably blazing inside. His ears are ringing, high pitched buzzing resounding throughout his head. Over the buzzing, there's a muffled sound, something like a voice. It's then that a hand smacks against his arm and he twists, a little painfully, to see Esposito.

"Castle, you okay?"

He's nodding even as it rattles his brain, sends his headache into overdrive. He doesn't realize he's laying in shattered glass until he cuts his hand.

"Beckett. Where's Beckett?"

He's off his feet in a second, stumbling through a thick fog of smoke towards the entrance. He's vaguely aware of the boys' voices following him, though he's unsure whether they're yelling at him or with him.

The inside is a disaster. Desks blown apart, toppled over one another. Pieces of the ceiling now lying on the floor, shattered. Bodies of people who didn't make it out, trapped beneath the wreckage.

"Beckett!" he yells, looking around with squinted eyes for any sign of her. "Kate!"

The three of them look everywhere they can think of, beneath the furniture and debris and in corners. There's no sign of her.

There's blood on the floor and he panics, a lump forming in his throat, but there's no way to know if it's hers. There are other casualties, other people whose blood that could be splattered on the floor, and so he pushes it back, refuses to let himself think she's gone.

Except she is gone. Physically. She's not here.

"Mother!" he tries, searching frantically for the other woman he desperately needs to see. "Mother, are you in here?"

The boys search the hallways while Castle remains out front, and they find a few of the hostages hiding in the vault the suspects had opened early on and never closed again. Among them, thankfully, is Martha. Banged up, covered in some soot, but otherwise unharmed from the explosion thanks to the steel covering.

"Castle!" Esposito yells, and he comes running.

"Mother," he breathes, bending down to her to wrap his arms around her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

She gives a little disjointed nod. "I'm okay. Shaken up and dusty, but okay." There's a brief pause. "But Katherine..."

Castle's head whips up. "You saw Beckett?"

The three watch as she nods once more. "I...I saw them shoot her," she confirms quietly, looking a little lost. Her voice wavers as she remembers. "I didn't—I couldn't move; it was before I managed to disappear into the vault. She was just lying there, struggling to breathe, and we made eye contact."

His heart stutters, breaking into pieces.

"What happened? Is she..." He can't say it.

But his mother shakes her head. "I don't know. One of the other hostages applied pressure to the wound, and then I snuck away while the robbers were arguing with each other. But when I left, Richard, she was alive."

He chokes out a small sob before pushing it back, nodding as he helps his mother up. Other officers and feds come in to help with the rest of the hostages, bringing them outside and loading them into ambulances to get checked out. His mother assures everyone that she's fine but he convinces her to go anyway, promises he'll be there to see her soon. She waves him off with the shake of her head, a hug as she whispers go find her into his ear.

Back outside, he coughs out the smoke that had invaded his lungs. "She's not in there," he croaks, looking to Ryan and Esposito desperately. "Where is she? Why isn't she in there?"

Ryan shakes his head, his injured shoulder even worse off now. "She's—she must be with them."

"Or..."

"No," he says firmly. "She's not... she's alive. It's Beckett. If she were dead, we'd know. Besides, Mother said she was alive when she last saw her."

The hostage negotiator runs up to them, out of breath and confused, anger radiating from his body. "What the hell is this?" he yells, and while Castle knows it's not directed at them but at the situation itself, he'd like the man to take a few steps back. He's not in the mood. "No one here profiled that this was a suicide mission."

"It wasn't," Castle says immediately, and all three heads whip towards him.

"Then what do you call what just happened?" the man asks, gesturing to the disaster unfolding behind them.

"Don't you see? They didn't improvise a way out," he starts, running a hand through his tattered hair. The blast is starting to make a little more sense now. "This was their plan from the start, their exit strategy. You don't learn explosives overnight."

She's propped in the backseat of their getaway car when she comes to again. The pain is still excruciating, sharp pains shooting down her shoulder, arm, around her chest. From what she can gather the first bullet was a through and through to the shoulder, and the second was lodged somewhere on her vest around her lower abdomen. If not for the vest, she'd have bled out in minutes.

There's still a lot of blood, the bullet wound to her shoulder throbbing, but she's alive.

He didn't go for the kill shot.

"I'm your only way out of this," Queen of Diamonds says, and Beckett watches as the two of them point their guns at each other. "So put that down. This isn't a gun show."

Oliver lowers the gun, eyes still on the road. "Fine." Twisting around, he looks at her. "Can we kill her yet? We need to get on the road."

"No. We need her."

"For what?"

"Leverage," is what she says, looking at the map in her hand, a content smirk on her face. "So we need to clean her up. Get bandages on her wounds."

"Why?"

Queen of Diamonds groans, snapping the map shut. "So she doesn't die, you idiot. She wouldn't be much good of a negotiation tool for us dead, now would she?"

They take her to a Fire Station and force someone to stitch her up. Queen of Diamonds kills the medic after he's done.

The boys find the underground pathway of tunnels they used to escape the bank and come up around the same spot they must have, the perfect secluded alleyway to have a car waiting.

"Now what?" Castle asks. He's losing his mind a little bit, not knowing where Beckett is or if she's even okay. "How are we supposed to know where they're taking her or what their end game is?"

Esposito punches the brick wall in frustration, blowing out a breath. "This is ridiculous. They're supposed to be a bunch of bank robbers and they're over here blowing up buildings and killing hostages and kidnapping a cop?"

And so they're at a loss, as are the feds. They have more they're not telling the NYPD, of course, and while it aggravates them to no end, they're not talking. They've tried and the feds have refused, saying it's need to know. As if a missing NYPD detective isn't grounds for the NYPD to need to know.

Wherever Beckett is, Castle can only hope that she's still fighting.

Queen of Diamonds gets a call from someone and says there's been a change in plans, directs Oliver to drive somewhere else. They pull into some side alleyway and he stops the car, says he's not going anywhere until she tells him what the plan is.

She shoots him, and it catches Beckett so off guard she screams.

The woman reaches over and opens his driver side door, kicking it until it swings all the way, and shoves his body onto the concrete.

Beckett takes this moment, the split second the Queen's guard is down as she disposes of her partner, and uses it to her advantage. The gun is still in her hand but it's in her outstretched arm, hidden behind the driver's seat and out of view of Beckett. She can't just turn it to shoot her.

And so she moves quickly, kicks between the seats to strike the Queen of Diamonds in the head. She's disoriented, shouting at Beckett for being a bitch and something about how she's dead now, but Beckett springs forward, punches her once more for good measure and grabs the gun from where it's fallen onto the front seat.

Queen of Diamonds teeters, and Beckett slams her head against the glass window, fighting through the woman's grip on her throat. When she finally falls limp against the seat—just in the nick of time, as Beckett was starting to feel lightheaded too—she leans back on her haunches, allows herself to rest against the seat for a few seconds.

Heaving out a sigh, she bends forward to rifle around for the woman's phone. The adrenaline masked her pain for a few minutes, but now it's back in full swing, searing down her side with any movement.

She's going to need one hell of an ice pack.

The boys' car pulls up to where the stolen government vehicle the robbers had taken was parked, and Castle practically jumps out before it's even stopped. Beckett stands against the driver's side back door, body weak against the metal. She's barely keeping herself vertical.

He runs towards her, ignoring the other feds coming around to collect their robber, his sights only on her. There's a relieved smile on his face and tears in his eyes as he nearly collides with her, remembering at the last second that he has to be careful not to put too much pressure on her.

"Thank god," he breathes into her hair, his voice unsteady. "Beckett, I—I'm so glad you're alive."

She uses what energy she has left to hug him back, squeeze at his shoulder gently. "I'm okay, Castle. I—" He pulls away to stare at her, and the rogue tears staining his cheeks steal her breath away. "I'm sorry. That you guys were so worried," she adds on, looking over to Ryan and Esposito.

Castle steps back and allows the boys to hug her, give her similar sentiments.

"We're just glad you're okay, boss," Ryan says, letting out a breath Castle's sure he's been holding since she went into that bank.

Esposito huffs. "Yeah, Beckett. We're glad you're all right, but never do that again."

Her smile turns into a grimace as she chokes out a laugh. "I'll try."

"We need to get you to a hospital," Castle interjects, watching as she basically doubles over, her skin turning pale. When she wavers on the spot, he's beside her in an instant, holding the brunt of her weight. "Hey, deep breath."

Her teeth grind. "Deep breaths hurt."

"Okay, shallow breaths," he adjusts, walking her to the car where Ryan's holding the door open. "We'll have you good as new in no time."

"They had me stitched up, it's fine."

Esposito's brows wrinkle. "What? Why would they do that?"

"Needed me as leverage," she manages. "Couldn't have me die before I served my purpose."

As scared as he is to ask, Castle forces himself. "What was your purpose?"

"Don't know," she grunts, allowing them to situate her into the backseat. "Managed to break away before I found out."

Thank god.

"She didn't even protest to the hospital," Ryan comments quietly once she's seated. "She must really be in pain."

As Castle slides in beside Beckett, he frowns at the sheer amount of discomfort she's clearly in right now. He wraps an arm around her shoulder and pulls her into his side, keeping some pressure but trying to keep her as comfortable as she can be right now.

She tries to pull away. "It'll get blood on your shirt, Castle."

He doesn't let her, instead holds tighter.

"I don't care."

He'll toss his shirt; he has plenty others. The fact that she's bleeding means she's still alive, and he's in no way going to complain about that.

As soon as the doctors look her over and bandage her—correctly, because though the medic at the fire house did a fine job, it was rushed—she's hounding them to know when she can go home. They do x-rays and find that she has bruised ribs, likely from the initial impact and her harsh fall to the floor. Nothing's broken, thankfully, and they tell her she'll be in pain for a few weeks, give her pain killers.

Her shoulder was a clean shot, so while it's painful, there was minor tissue damage done.

They conclude that she has a mild concussion from the fall as well, and she supposes that'd explain her blurry vision and headaches, her lack of balance.

"I'm—I'll be fine," she amends when Castle gives her a pointed look. "So, when can I go?"

Doctor Adams sighs. "You can be discharged soon," he concedes. "But you need to be very careful. No heavy lifting, no quick movements. Do you live with someone?"

She shakes her head. "No, why?"

"Well, I don't feel comfortable releasing you without someone to keep an eye on you," he says, continuing before she can protest. "Your concussion is minor, but you're experiencing a number of the symptoms and you should have company to ensure there are no missteps."

Beckett's bristling on the bed, Castle can see it, and he opens his mouth before his brain has a chance to catch up. "She has someone to stay with."

"Castle, no," she starts, but her voice trails off as the doctor nods.

"Perfect. I'll get the discharge papers ready." With one last smile, he turns towards the door. "Feel better, Detective."

"You don't have to do this," Beckett says once he's gone. She can see the boys hovering in the hallway. "I can stay at my apartment, I'll be fine."

"You were just shot. Twice. Kidnapped by robbers-turned-killers and stitched up half-assed in the back of a firetruck. You have a concussion, Beckett. You're not fine."

She averts her gaze. "I said I'll be fine," she mumbles.

"You will," he agrees, sighing as he moves closer. He places a tentative hand on hers. "Let me help, Kate. I thought...I didn't know if we'd see you again. Please, just come back to the loft with me. Rest in a place where I know you're safe, where there are people that care about you."

Beckett's eyes linger on where her hand is dwarfed by his, then trail up to meet his, pressing her lips into a thin smile.

"Okay."

He's hovering, he knows he is. But he can't seem to stop himself as he helps Beckett into the loft, one arm around her waist for support.

Martha rushes to the front door as soon as it opens, wraps her arms around both of them in a hug. Aside from some obvious bumps and bruises, some cuts, the older woman seems to be doing fine.

"Oh, Katherine," she greets, voice full of relief as she pulls back. "I'm so glad you're okay, dear. For a second there..."

"Thank you," she smiles. "I'm really glad you're okay too, Martha. And I'm sorry you had to see that, the—me."

She doesn't elaborate, but she knows Martha understands by the clouds that gather in her eyes, the sad nod that accompanies it. The older woman reaches out, grasps one of Beckett's hands in both of her palms.

"While terrifying to see you like that, it is entirely not your fault. You understand that?"

All she can do is manage a weak nod in response. Castle steps away from her for a second to embrace his mother, wrapping her in a tight hug as he whispers once again how grateful he is that she's okay.

"I'm going to set Beckett up in my room, Mother," he says once he's released her. "Yell if you need anything."

Beckett's head snaps towards him, face twisting in pain at the motion. "What? Castle, no, being here is enough. I'm not kicking you out of your room."

"It's not kicking me out if I'm voluntarily leaving," he counters, dragging her gently towards the room. "And it's the only bedroom downstairs and with an en-suite bathroom. It makes the most sense."

She grumbles but relents, taking a seat in the corner chair as he changes the sheets and grabs anything she may need. He takes out a pair of boxers and a giant t-shirt for her to change into, and she finds herself smiling at the thoughtfulness of it. It hadn't occurred to her that they hadn't stopped at her apartment to pick up anything first.

"Here are some clothes you can sleep in," he says, gesturing to the pile now on the edge of the bed. "There are clean towels in the bathroom if you want to take a shower, or I can run you a hot bath? And there's a new toothbrush on the sink, too."

Standing, she takes as deep a breath possible. "Thank you, Castle. This is all...very sweet of you."

She expects a smile, but when he turns to her there's something clouding his features. He moves to stand in front of her, his eyes trailing the length of her injured body with a look she can't explain. When he pulls her into another hug, as gentle as he possibly can, she thinks she gets it. And so she just hugs back, as tightly as she can without agitating her wounds, and lets him have this.

"Beckett, I—I really thought we lost you this time," he murmurs quietly. "When we watched you go down, I—something cracked, and I'm not sure I've ever felt that kind of panic before."

Her breath hitches. "You saw that?"

He nods against her neck. "We were in the van, watching the cameras as soon as you went inside. God, Kate, I was terrified. The feed cut out as soon as you were shot, and we had no idea if you were okay or alive and...I thought that was the last time I would ever see you."

Beckett pulls away this time, forces him to look at her. "I wish you didn't see that," she sighs, lowering her gaze then. "I'm okay, Castle. A little banged up, but I'll be okay. I'm here."

Nodding, he licks his lips. "Yeah. Yeah, you are." He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I just—"

"Don't. Don't apologize. You care, and that's—that's really nice to have, someone that cares so much. I may not always show it, Castle, but I—I appreciate it," she says, her voice so low he almost misses it. "And I'm glad I'm here to tell you, in person."

His face brightens, a small smile curling at the corners of his mouth. "I am too. You have no idea." There's a silence as they both look into each other's eyes, and then he breaks it, turns his head. "Why don't you get changed, okay? You should rest."

"Yeah, okay. Thank you again, for everything."

Just as he reaches the door, she calls his name once more. When he stops, she shuffles the few feet to him, and lifts to press a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"And...I care about you, too."