Wow, thank you so much for the great reviews already! :) I hope you'll enjoy that chapter just as much.

CHAPTER 2

Castle and Beckett were still looking at each other, in silence, holding hands. It had already been ten minutes. And still no sign of anyone. All they knew was that the team and the experts were on their way. They had complained about time going by too fast... Well it seemed time was now making fun of them. Ten minutes had just felt like an eternity.

"Okay... Let's think. What if... What if I slip something between your foot and that plate? That way you can take your foot away. We'll maintain pressure on it, long enough for us to find something heavy to put on it," Castle suggested.

"I think I'd rather wait for a bomb disposal expert to tell me what to do, Castle. No offense but..."

"None taken. Don't worry." Castle looked around him, trying to find anything that could help them. "Maybe he's got a user manual somewhere that says which wire to cut-"

Castle and Beckett both startled when they heard his phone ring. They instinctively looked down at her foot. Sudden movements were not welcome in a situation like this.

"You should take it," she nodded. "I'm not going anywhere," she joked letting his hands go.

Castle picked up and put the speaker on.

"Finally! Where are you?"

"Hey, bro, how is she doing in there?" Esposito asked, concerned.

"Great, she's having fun playing Red Light, Green Light. Man, that light's been red for a long time now..." he said eyeing nervously at it. "Trust me, Beckett's gonna beat us all at this game at our next police picnic! You're on speaker by the way."

"Okay so listen. We're right outside the building. The squad is getting ready. A guy is about to join you."

They could hear some noises in the background and voices. Ryan, Lanie and Gates were all gathered around Esposito, who was also on speaker.

"Mr Castle, you need to get out. We cannot-" Captain Gates insisted.

"No way," Castle retorted, just like he had done when Kate had asked him to leave.

"We cannot guarantee your safety," she went on.

"Don't worry. I signed some papers on my first day at the precinct. The NYPD is not responsible for anything that could happen to me. No one's gonna sue you if I'm blown into pieces."

"At least come out to take a walkie-talkie with you. We need to be able-"

"No freaking way!" he repeated more aggressively. "I'm not leaving her side for a second," he said looking at Kate, who smiled in gratitude. "You want me to have one, bring it yourself. Plus, why would we need one? I've got my phone. That's enough. It's working pretty well right now."

"Yeah, just change your ringtone... please," Kate whispered.

She couldn't take the risk of dying because a stupid scary ringtone.

"My contract says unlimited talk time," he joked. "We have all the time in the world! But... I have to say I wouldn't mind if we could get out of there soon."

"You'd be on the same frequency as the squad, so we would all be able to communicate together," she explained keeping a calm tone. "It would be much easier-"

"No thanks. Do a conference call if you want. I am not leaving," he insisted on every word to make himself clear.

"Okay, we hear you, buddy. Do you need anything?" Ryan asked to calm him down.

"Yeah. I'd take a cheeseburger with fries. Beckett? What do you want? Double dose of coffee maybe?" Kate smiled shyly at him. He was just as scared as she was. His coping mechanism was back. "What do you think we need? A guy who walks in here and disarms this bomb."

"Kate, it's Lanie. How are you?"

"Oh oh..." Castle did hearing her voice. "A medical examiner... that's not good. They asked you to come to work on our bodies... in case we don't make it? Where's Perlmutter? I'm sure he'd love to dissect my brain to find out what was wrong with me. Though I'm not sure there would be a lot of it left when... you know," Castle said with a wince thinking about what they would look like.

"I'm here as a friend, Castle," she said in a calm and reassuring voice.

"It's okay Lanie. We're okay," Kate said very softly. "Where... Where's that guy that's supposed to join us?" she asked with a shiver in her voice.

"Gearing up now. He should be with you in a few minutes," Esposito reassured her.

"Mr Castle, it would help if you could send us a picture of the device," Gates said.

Beckett and Castle shared a concerned look. What did that mean?

"Why?" he asked. "The guy will see it when he gets here."

"They would like to see what it looks like first. So they know what they're dealing with. Simple precaution so that they don't walk in there blind."

Castle sighed. That meant he wasn't coming soon. There was another delay, adding another few minutes to this torture as they needed time to study the mechanism.

"Fine, I'm doing it now," he said before hanging up.

He kneeled back down and tried to take pictures of the device beneath her feet, the casing and the dozen wires.

"Let's hope they like what they see," Kate said as he sent the photos.

# # # # #

It had been another fifteen minutes. Castle was checking his watch more and more often. They had got the word that the expert was about to walk in.

Kate could feel the muscles in her leg burning. She felt she was about to break. She could already feel some shakes in her leg. Castle noticed it.

"You hold just a little while longer, Kate," he whispered to her. "You hold! It's been more than a half hour now. You just need a few more minutes. Look at me," he said seeing she was closing her eyes. "Just a few more minutes."

"What if..." she started, looking him in the eyes, still holding his hands, "what if he's not coming because there's nothing he can do?"

Castle's heart raced. It was something he did not want to consider. He shook his head. This could not happen.

"He's an expert. He knows what he's doing," he said. "He'll find a way."

"But our suspect is also an expert-" she said sounding like she was losing faith.

The man who had invented that device had been a member of a bomb disposal unit for more than twenty years. He knew their techniques. He knew how to get round them.

"It's gonna be fine. It has to. We're both gonna walk out of here." Kate was nodding but he could feel she was not believing it. He could see her eyes getting moist. "Hey... Even on the worst day, there's always a possibility for joy. You know who taught me that?" he said with a tender smile. "A little stickman I met a few months ago." Kate chuckled at these words but it was hard for her to keep her focus. "He belongs to a wonderful woman. A strong, determined woman that I had the chance to meet almost five years ago now. She's changed my life. So I will never let her down. Even on the worst moment. On the worst day. Because there's always a possibility for a happy ending. Always."

Kate closed her eyes and tried to picture her little stickman. She was the most optimistic of the two. She could not give up that easily. Castle nodded as she saw Kate was slowly getting her usual determination back. He squeezed her hands a little stronger before looking over her shoulder.

"Here he comes," he told her with a smile. "Welcome! Thanks for coming. How are you?" Castle exclaimed, nervous.

"Hi. I'm Steven Stagner," he said very softly staying in the doorway. "I'm gonna approach slowly and take a look at the device. I will ask you not to move, you hear me?" Kate nodded. That was what she had been doing all along. No need to change now, especially since she knew the consequences. She couldn't see him as he was coming from behind. She did not want to risk to turn around just to see his face. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better... My leg is itching, hurting a bit."

"It's completely normal. From what we saw, we should expect a twenty-minute intervention."

"What?!" Castle exclaimed. Kate sighed of desperation. "You can't do it faster? She's exhausted. How long do you think she'll last like this?"

"I understand your frustration but speed is not our friend here. We studied the device. It's complex. Don't forget it's been made by a professional. We need to take every precaution."

His voice had a regular serenity. He was not raising his voice, making sure to keep the same tone to reassure them. After a few cautious steps, he had finally joined them and could now face Beckett.

"At least... that means there's no timer. Right?" Kate asked.

"That's right. I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to be absolutely honest with you before I start. In a sense... you're the timer. You're the detonator. It's a race against exhaustion and pain for you. It needs to be crystal clear for you... that our lives depend on you," he said looking her in the eyes. This man was putting his life at risk and had no assurance of getting out alive. He gave her a few seconds to internalize it. "If you feel you are about to loose it, I'm gonna have to ask you to say it loud and clear." Kate nodded vigorously, holding her breath. She did not want to be responsible for their deaths. If she could not get out of there alive, at least they could. "Good. I'll start right away. Sir, you need-"

"I'm not leaving," Castle cut him off, looking him straight in the eyes.

To Be Continued...

Reviews are always appreciated! :)