CHAPTER 3

Agent Stagner nodded as he respected Castle's decision to stay by her side. He had been briefed before coming in. He would meet a man who was reluctant to leave and he did not need to insist as there was almost no chance to change his mind.

"Okay. I'm ready. Kate," he started, calling her by her first name to gain her confidence. "Do you want me to comment what I'm doing? Or do you prefer not to know?"

Kate could not look at him. Being able to see what he was doing was even worse. What if he cut the wrong wire? What if he let go of a tool and made her startle? What if there was nothing to do? There were so many ifs, so many things that could go wrong. She felt that witnessing him touching that device was like being awake during her own surgery. Like feeling the first incision, as he would try to strip a wire. Like witnessing a surgeon cutting her artery, if he cut the wrong one... Kate shook her head, avoiding to look him in the eyes.

"No, I- I don't want to know. Just... do what you have to, please."

"Very well," he said with a sympathetic smile.

"Do you... Do you need complete silence or... can we talk?" Castle asked as agent Stagner kneeled down and prepared his tools.

"I don't mind you talking. Just pretend I'm not here. If you feel more comfortable talking to keep your mind busy, go ahead. I completely understand. It could even been a good thing," he said before quickly looking at Kate, in order to make Castle understand it could be good for her.

Castle noticed Kate looking away, her clenching her jaw as the expert was making his first move on the device. He needed to keep her mind busy, he needed her to focus on something else. Anything else.

It was a team effort. Stagner was in charge of the material aspect of the situation, Castle of the mental one and Kate of the physical one. They all had a part in this. They needed to work hand in hand to get out of here alive.

"How about we go over the case again?" Castle suggested, since they now had new elements. "Hm... We know that-"

"Not now, Castle. I can't think," she said rather sharply.

"Okay," he said gently, nodding. "Sorry."

"Parker, do you copy?" agent Stagner asked talking into his mike.

"Yeah, Stagner. We hear you. Status report."

"We've got a problem," he said straightening up.

Kate and Castle looked at each other with fear and instinctively squeezed each other's hands stronger. They were hanging to his every word.

"What's wrong?" Castle asked under his breath.

It felt like a false start. He had barely started and was already facing a problem.

"We saw a white wire and a yellow wire on the pictures, is that correct?" the expert kept communicating with his team, ignoring Castle's question.

"Correct."

"Negative. They are both white," he explained.

The man at the other end of the line did not answer immediately. This silence made Castle's and Beckett's heart beat even faster. And they were already racing.

"You are saying there are two white wires and no yellow wire. I repeat, no yellow wire?"

"Correct. It's pretty dark in here. Light must have fooled us."

"Roger that. We're working on it. We'll get back to you."

"Copy. Standing by."

"Standing by? What does that mean?" Castle asked, barely able to breathe as he waited for his explanation.

Steven looked up at Kate. They could see he was sorry but for now there was not much he could do.

"That means you're gonna have to hold a little longer than we expected."

Kate was near breaking point. Her nerves were tested. Her physical resistance too. She buried her face into her hands, and exhaled strongly. She was ready to burst into tears.

"Castle..." she whispered.

"No, no, it's okay. You can do this."

"I... I don't know how much longer I can hold..." she said bending her head down.

Her leg was itching so bad she was dying to move it, just an inch... And her sole was burning.

"Look at me. Come on, hang in there. Kate, you've seen worse than that. We've already been to hell and back together. We can do it again, I know it. It's just a little delay," he told her. "What's wrong?" he asked looking at the expert.

"We need to go over it again as our projection may be wrong as to what each wire is connected to. He messed up with the standard colors, probably on purpose to deceive us. My team is working on it as we speak. I'm gonna take another look at it. Kate, I need you to hang in there. We're doing as fast as we can."

She never thought standing still for hours was so painful. The stress, the anxiety, the pressure were adding even more obstacles to overcome.

"How do I know..." she said, a lump in her throat. "How do I know how much longer I can hold? You said to warn you if-"

"No, no... Kate. You can hold longer than that," Castle said, panicky.

She couldn't give up already. Not her. Not the Kate Beckett he knew.

"Only you can know," Stagner said in all honesty. "We don't feel your pain. We're not in your head. Only you can know how far you can go. And how far you're willing to go."

It was all about will and determination. The mental part was almost more challenging than the physical one at this point. Giving up was suicide. Was she ready for it?

# # # # #

Esposito was pacing up and down the same little square of ground, over and over again. They did not know what was going on inside. They had seen the guy walk into the building ten minutes ago. And they still knew nothing, except they had not heard any deflagration. That was a good sign. But he was tired of being kept in the dark.

"What do you think is going on in there?" Ryan asked.

They had been advised not to call while their man was working on the bomb. Disarming that bomb demanded precise movements that couldn't be jeopardized by a ringtone.

"I don't know and it's killing me," Esposito answered before heading towards the command post. "Hey," he said, gently addressing one of the team members. "Where are we on disarming that bomb? What's going on?" he asked, noticing that the seven other guys were back working on their schematics.

"We hit a snag but we're working on it," he explained. "The good thing is that there's no timer. So the only time restriction we have is your partner's resistance."

"What problem, exactly?"

"Sir, I understand you're anxious here but I can tell you we're doing everything we can."

"How long do you think it's gonna take?" he asked more tense, as Ryan approached.

"We can't predict-"

"Come on, give me something! A window. Is it closer to ten minutes or an hour?"

The agent looked successively at Ryan and Esposito, who were almost begging for some information.

"The intervention itself should take around twenty minutes. And we still have a few details to figure out before our man can start."

Esposito did the math. At least half an hour should go by before they knew for sure if Beckett and Castle were safe and out of harm's way.

"Have you... Have you already experienced this kind of device?" Ryan asked.

"Never. This guy's a pro, and I'm sorry to say, a little genius when it comes to building a bomb. It adds more difficulties for us but we're gonna get our work done. We've had people stepping on mines that we had to disarm but this is different."

"And... how long do they generally hold?" Ryan asked, looking at his watch.

More than an hour had already gone by since Castle had made that first call.

"Every individual has a different physical and mental resistance. There's no rule. You know her better than me."

"Come on, you know her, Javi," Ryan said, giving him a little tap. "She's a fighter. She won't give up. And Castle's in there with her. She's gonna be okay."

Esposito nodded, wanting to believe him. Kate was more than a partner or a supervisor for them. She was a friend. There were two friends in that hangar that they did not want to lose.

"Can we... stay around? Have an eye on what's going on?" Esposito asked, leaning to catch a glimpse at their monitor.

"Please," Ryan added.

# # # # #

Stagner had received the green light. He could start the procedure. It was time for Castle to come into play again, to help Kate focus on other things than this man working on saving her life.

"What... What was that story again you told me, of you going skiing with your parents?" Castle asked, wanting her to shift her focus on good memories. "You got lost right? Always being at the other end of the piste?" he chuckled.

Her parents. Kate thought about her father. It was often said that there was nothing worse than losing a child. She couldn't help but think of the pain her father would endure if she didn't make it. Castle felt her grip on his hand loosening as she let it go to reach her pocket. He kept looking at her every move. She took her phone in her hand, staring at it for a minute.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a nervous smile.

"I think I should call my father," she said very softly keeping her eyes on her phone.

Castle swallowed hard at her words. He could feel his body shaking as he realized she sounded more and more resolute... to give up.

"What for?" he asked, putting his hand on her phone to catch her attention. "Kate, you don't want to tell him what you're going through. You don't want to worry him. You'll tell him that story when we get out. It's gonna make a very suspenseful and dramatic story to tell at family reunions."

Kate slowly looked up at him. She was almost emotionless.

"I want to hear his voice."

"Yeah and... what, you'll have an ordinary conversation? What will you say when he asks how you're doing? Oh I'm doing great, just doing paperwork? Kate..." he whispered trying to dissuade her.

She wouldn't listen to him. Kate put the phone to her ear anyway. Castle closed his eyes in despair, sighing deeply. She was listening to the tone, eager to hear his reassuring voice. But it only kept ringing. Kate closed her eyes in her turn, a tear running down her cheek. Was the universe really gonna be that cruel with her? Everything seemed to be going wrong. She eventually heard his voice. On his voicemail.

Castle felt relieved. Maybe it would push her to hold longer, with the hope and will of seeing her father again, of hearing his voice again.

To Be Continued...

Reviews are always appreciated! :)

I know some of you want to see more from Beckett, want to see her tell Castle how much she loves him. It's coming. Don't worry. :)