It's been years since I've written fan fiction. Thank you so much for the positive words and welcome back! :)

Chapter 2

"Castle?!" The words left Kate's mouth in a breathless whisper. It seemed that time had stood still as she stood, swaying gently, whilst her tawny eyes continued to search the empty frame of the TV. Her hands remained in small fists at her side, her entire body tensed ready for a fight. The sound of her heartbeat filled her ears as her lungs screamed for oxygen – it was as though she was afraid that if she moved this moment would become real. If it became real then she could not escape it.

It was the warm hand of Espo on her upper arm that broke her from her trance. She dragged in a ragged breath trying to force herself to unclench her hands.

"Beckett?" Ryan asked gently. Kate shook her head refusing to believe what she had just seen. She dug her hand into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. As she dialled his number she counted in her head. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and breathe. As she reached ten the phone stopped ringing and she was greeted with Castle's voice.

"You've reached Richard Castle, leave me a message and I'll call you back."

"Castle" the word was a whisper, a prayer. Kate took another deep breath.

"Castle, when you get this call me. Immediately. I- " she paused again, fighting for air, fighting for clarity as the fear of the unknown rolled through her in waves.

"God… Castle. Just call me. I love you."

As she closed her phone she closed her eyes, preparing her defences as she drew her strength together. When she opened her eyes they were set, the tension from moments before had disappeared. They were now the eyes of a hunter. Of a woman who would stop at nothing to retrieve what was hers.

She turned to face Ryan and Espo.

"I can't get through to the station, all lines have been disconnected. The station has stopped broadcasting all channels. There's been no word and no demands" Espo summed up, his voice quiet and emotionless.

"Okay" Beckett looked around her team, "let's get down there, see what the situation is on the ground, let's coordinate with SWAT and the hostage negotiation team on our way. Best to call the FBI too, keep them in the loop". Her voice was strong now, she had flat cop eyes as she gave out her orders. As she headed towards the door Ryan stopped her.

"Beckett-"

"I'm fine Ryan, I'm fine."

Ryan studied her face, he didn't quite believe her, he could hear the tremor in her voice despite the armour she'd put on. But he let her go, walking past him with the sound of her heels clinking nearly as loudly as her invisible armour.

In the studio Castle's eyes stung from the smoke grenade. The grenade had been thrown through the door of the studio giving them no warning as it exploded, releasing thick tendrils of smoke throughout the room. Instinctively Castle had thrown himself to the floor, taking Sarah with him. Moments later the power had been shut down, the once bright set had been plunged into darkness with the busy whirlings of the computers and cameras shutting down one by one.

Castle was behind the sofa in the middle of the set, he peeked up slowly over the edge of the sofa. What he saw caused his heart to freeze and his stomach to sink. He saw four men dressed all in black, bullet proof vests covered their chests, ski masks disguised their features and they each held an AK-47 in front of them. Castle dropped back to his knees behind the sofa.

"What? What did you see?" Sarah asked, her voice shaking nearly as much as her hands. Castle just shook his head silencing her. He began to slowly reach into his pocket, beginning to pull out his phone.

"What- what are you doing?" She whispered, watching Castle with wide, frightened eyes. He mouthed "Beckett" at her, gesturing for her to keep watch nearby. She nodded at him, hugging her knees close to her chest as she looked over her shoulder. Castle saw his phone had several missed calls and was flashing with a voicemail. He clenched a fist as he pictured her face as she frantically dialled his number. He pushed call connect and his phone quietly began to ring.

Beckett had taken a few moments to draw in deep breaths as she stalked down the corridor towards her car. Her mind was a turmoil of emotions. Gut wrenching fear that something had happened to him, anger at whoever had caused this and a soul clenching pain that threatened to overwhelm every cell in her body. She paused to press her hands against the wall, leaning forward. Breathe, just breathe. She could hear Castle's voice in her head. Damn it, she was not going to let them take him from her. Not now. Not after everything they'd been through. She took one more deep breath, threw her shoulders back, checked her weapon on her hip and strode forward.

As she reached her car her phone buzzed against her hip. The words that lit up the screen caused such a crashing sense of relief it made her stagger with dizziness.

"Castle?!" Her voice was a breath. A whisper, daring to hope.

"Kate."

"Oh thank god, Castle"

The next sound she heard was that of a gunshot. Then the line went dead.