My first fanfic ever, just randomly started writing it, may leave it as a one shot but i might have an idea to continue on with if anyone thinks it is worth it. All mistakes are my own, as are all the ideas, only thing i dont own is the characters. No names are mentioned, but it is Castle and Beckett, set any time after Beckett is shot.
She heard the loud pop, the sound signifying a bullets entrance into the world. She heard the unmistakable grunt of pain that she recognised as being his. She spun around, weapon raised and pointed at the spot she instinctively knew the shot had come from. Everything moved in slow motion, she saw the shooter, and heard three pops emenate from her own firearm, a reflex action that came about as a result of the gun now trained on her head. She knew the suspect must have collapsed, no one can remain standing following three GSW's to the chest, but her eyes were not on him anymore, her mind not caring whether or not he was still a threat, or even if he was still alive. Her eyes were focused on the love of her life who now lay face up in a growing pool of his own blood. With no regard for her own safety, she rushed over to him, tears filling her eyes as she knelt close beside him, disturbing the blood that continued to pool around them, she took in the sight before her. He was alive, barely, but still, his chest rising and falling with very shallow breaths. His lips were turning blue, and he was beginning to shiver, she could see he was losing a lot of blood. Her tears finally spilling over, she reached out to him, placing her hand over his, his hands had once been a source of warmth, always able to provide comfort or reassurance to her when she needed it, now however, they were cold, it was like they didn't even belong to him. She brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed it, brushing her lips lightly over his knuckles. His eyes, which had until then remained closed, now opened a fraction, and gazed at her.
"Hey" he said. Just one word, but to her it was everything, confirmation that at least for the moment he was still with her.
"Hey yourself" was her reply, so stupid she thought to herself, he could be dying and all I got is hey yourself!
He smiled, not his usual mischievous grin, just a small smile, as if he were trying to downplay the severity of the situation.
"You don't need to worry you know" he smirked, trying as always to provide comedic relief.
She wasn't following, "Worry about what?" despite herself she smiled slightly, if he was well enough to be smirking then he was well enough to stay with her a little longer.
"I'm not going to sue the department, I signed that waver so you're safe" his smirk grew as he saw the look of confusion flash across her face, he chuckled to himself, an action that, under normal circumstances, would have earned him a smile from her, now caused a stab of pain through his chest, making any and all movement excruciatingly painful.
She saw him struggling with himself, pain etched into his features, the spasms his body was now having were causing further blood-loss. As much as she hated to do so, she released her grip on his hand and using both of her own, she placed them over the wound in his now heaving chest and pressed down applying as much pressure as she could in an attempt to staunch the flow of crimson liquid that began to seep through her fingers. She could tell he was trying to be brave, his jaw was locked, probably in an effort to contain his girlish screams she thought, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
He was trying to keep it together; put on a brave front so she wouldn't see how frightened he was and how much pain he was in. He clenched his jaw to keep himself from crying out when he felt her press down on the hole in his chest. He was warring with himself, on the one hand, the pressure she was exerting on his chest was painful beyond belief, but one the other hand, the feel of her strong, albeit small hands on his defined chest was amazing, and he couldn't decide if this was in fact pain or pleasure. Then suddenly it was neither, he couldn't feel the stabbing pain, or her soft hands against him, he couldn't even feel the floor beneath him, though surely it must still be there? He was going numb, he vaguely remembered reading somewhere during his research that the body would go into shock after a trauma, and this must be what it felt like. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered that he would now be able to realistically describe what it felt like to take a bullet to the chest. The slowing of his heart beat and the numbness that was creeping up on him told him otherwise, he would probably not live to write another chapter. He could almost laugh at the irony, not even a year before, these positions had been reversed and the beauty now leaning over him and literally holding his heart together had been the one in trouble, lying, dying in his arms, and now it was the other way around, he was the one fighting for his life and she was the one begging him to hang on.
She could see it in his eyes; he was leaving, giving in to the pain. The piercing blue she had grown so accustomed to was now fading, there was no playful glint to it.
"No no, you stay with me now ok? Everything is going to be fine, just hang on, stay with me!" she was getting slightly hysterical.
"You can't leave, not now, please just hang in there, I'm right here, I've got you! Please!" there was a desperate edge to her voice that surprised even herself.
It was too familiar, she had seen this all before. It was different, it was wrong! This was not how this scene was supposed to go. She was the cop, she was the one who took the bullets and faced death on a daily bases, not him! Then she remembered; she had seen this before, when their roles had been reversed, and it had been his hands covered in her blood. Her life hanging in the balance, and him, telling her he loved her… She realised how he must have felt, watching the love of his life fading away as she was doing now. She understood what had compelled him to confess his love for her; how he had wanted to make sure she knew what she meant to him before she died. And now, by some cruel twist of fate, he was the one on the floor and it was she who would have to admit how she felt.
"Listen to me. Listen to me! Don't you dare die on me now ok? I'm not done with you, I'm not finished loving you! I love you, I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving it to you, but I can't do that if you don't stay with me, so stay with me now and let me love you, please please just stay with me" she was sobbing now, her entire body shaking with the force of each sob.
She was trying to maintain her pressure on the wound and trying to gauge if he had heard her or not. She could here the ambulance siren nearing the building; she estimated that it was less than a block away. She could still feel his heart beating under her hands, it was weak, and very slow, but it was still there. His skin was cold and clammy, his blue lips were now a shade darker and he looked more vulnerable than she had ever seen him. His eyes opened slowly, as if it required a lot of energy, his mouth moved into as best a smile as he could muster as he looked at her. He had heard her, and her words had brought him one final burst of energy, using every single bit of courage he had left in him, he pushed through the pain and lifted his arm to rest his hand on hers, over his heart.
She could see he was trying to open his mouth to say something, "No don't try to speak, I know, I heard you that day in the ceremony, I heard you say you loved me and I'm sorry it took this for me to be able to say it back, but I do, and I have done for a long time now!" she didn't know if he could even hear her now, she was crying uncontrollably, the tears running down her face and landing on his chest. Somewhere behind her she heard someone approaching, she didn't want to know who it was, she knew she should be embarrassed for crying over someone she had insisted on more than one occasion was 'just her partner' but she wasn't, all that mattered was him. She knew she needed to move aside, to let the paramedics take over and save his life, she took the hand that was resting on hers and held it over her own heart, not caring about the blood she was now getting all over her blouse.
"I love you" she whispered the three little words, hoping like hell he could still hear her.
His head was heavy, his breathing laboured and almost impossible, but after hearing her declaration, he managed to whisper just one word in reply and squeeze her hand ever so slightly.
The last thing she heard before the paramedics took over, and the last thing he thought and said before succumbing to the darkness:
"Always"
Please please PLEASE review, first fanfic so i really wanna know if i am good at it or if i suck, dont be gentle, honesty is the best policy!:) thanks for reading!