Erosion
Chapter 3- Escape

It felt like hours, but was probably closer to thirty minutes later when the rope binding Castle's wrists finally loosened. Beckett's jaw was cramped, her bottom lip felt scraped raw, and her lower legs had long since fallen asleep. She almost cried in relief when Castle was able to wiggle at the rope enough to slip his hands free.

With a pained groan he rolled his shoulders and straightened his back before reaching out to grab at his partner.

"Let me get yours," he offered, his hands searching for hers.

"No, work on your legs and your blindfold first."

He growled his frustration at her but did as she asked. He rubbed his hands together and stuck them under his armpits to restore circulation before tugging at the tape around his head.

Beckett started working on the restraints at her ankles despite her limited movement. It was only a few minutes later when Castle's cry of victory echoed in the room.

"I got the end of it!" he said, excitedly. Beckett could hear the tape pulling free from itself, and then silence.

"Have you got it?"

"I can't tell if there's cloth on my eyes?"

"What?"

"It doesn't feel like there is tape on my skin, but I can't feel any fabric around the edges."

"For god sake, Castle, just rip the damn thing off!"

"Fine, but if I lose my eyebrows I'm gonna blame you." He grabbed the tape and tugged in a hard loop around his head. It pulled at his skin and he let out a yelp. "It's okay!" he almost laughed with his relief, "It's like sticky plaster! There's a gauze pad underneath."

"Castle!" she growled at him, "Just untie me!"

"Sorry," he looked around the room quickly, assessing the situation, while he made quick work of the rope at his ankles and then focused on his partner, "The room is pretty much bare, about twenty feet square, one window, one door." He started on her blindfold first, "The door is blank on this side, but the window is just glass sheeting. There's a pallet in the corner with a pile of boxes on it. And another five poles like this one, two rows of three... maybe they had shelves or something on them." He managed to flick a corner of the tape free with his fingernail and started peeling the blindfold off.

Beckett tried to build a mental picture of the room, but it was enough to know that they were somewhat safe and were alone – for now.

"Almost there," he said, encouragingly, and didn't pause as he unwrapped the blindfold.

She shook her head free the minute the pressure came off her eyes and let out a groan of pleasure. With her sight back Beckett felt almost instantly less on edge. She reassured herself that her partner was in one piece and then shuffled around to look across the rest of the room.

The ceiling was high, too high for it to be a shipping container, and a globe hung suspended from a wire in the centre of the room.

Castle stepped over her so she could face the door while he worked on her bindings. He shook out his legs and then knelt again.

"You've got a nasty bruise on your forehead," he said, his fingers skimming over the purple gash above her eyebrow.

"It doesn't feel too bad," she dismissed it.

Castle took another look at it and decided she was probably right. The ropes at her wrists and ankles came undone quickly and he rubbed at her lower legs to get the blood flowing.

"I got it," she said, replacing his hands with her own and massaging her calves and ankles.

"You good?" he asked, and waited only for her to nod before he grabbed her under her armpits to help boost her to her feet.

They stood with his hands on her sides and her hands gripping tight to his upper arms for several seconds. Without speaking they reassured each other that everything was fine; they were both okay, and they'd find a way out. Those moments of shared comfort were enough to bolster their spirits and they surprised themselves with a laugh.

"Ready?" Beckett asked, the first to step away.

They moved together to the side wall and edged up close to the window. It was high off the ground but she could reach the bottom corner. The glass was dark and Beckett tried to see through to the other side. Either it had been painted black or it was dark on the other side. She reached up and gave the bottom sill a nudge, and heard the top ledge bang against a lock.

Castle grabbed the wooden pallet from the corner and dragged it over to the window. Beckett crossed to the door. The door knob had been removed and the surface was flat. She gave it a quiet shove and it didn't budge.

She waited while Castle got the pallet in position and then stood on it to gain the extra height he needed to reach above the timber frame. There was a simple latch and he swung it around to unlock the window.

"You want to open it?" he asked.

"Can you hear anything?"

He took another moment to listen even though he'd heard nothing so far, "Nothing."

"Okay. You open it, straight up."

"Got it." He positioned himself so that he could lift the frame but stay covered by the wall. "On three."

Beckett stood on the opposite side of the window and waited for his count. As the panel lifted she spun on her tiptoes to look outside. The window opened onto a hallway. Fluorescent tube lights glowed a muted yellow and were surrounded by insects. The hallway continued in both directions and the wind was channelling along it from the right.

"Just a hallway, but I think there must be a door opened to the outside," Beckett said.

"We going through?"

"Any other ideas?"

"Nope. I'm all for finding a way out."

Castle turned the wooden pallet on its side to form a couple of precarious steps, "I'll boost you up," he explained.

"No, you go first. If you can balance on the sill you'll be able to pull me up after you."

Castle tested his weight on the thin wooden strips and wrapped his hands around the window. He boosted himself up and Beckett grabbed behind his knee to push. He got half way up, with one elbow hooked onto the frame, and hung there. He scraped against the wall with his shoe trying to find purchase.

"Go again," Beckett encouraged him, "push off my shoulders." She turned around and pressed her back against the wall. Grabbing his feet she nudged them up so his heels rested on her shoulders and she crouched down at the same time. With her hands either side of his thighs to steady him she pressed her weight into the floor and he pushed up at the same time.

"Nice!" He gasped, as he landed on his belly over the window ledge.

He spun his body around and, draped over the sill, reached down to pull Beckett up. They wrapped their hands around the other's forearms and Beckett placed one foot on the pallet.

With a countdown from three she launched herself up with a jump and grabbed one-handed for the ledge while pulling hard on Castle's arm.

She got her chest to the sill but had no balance to pull up onto it.

"I got it! Can you grab onto me and let go of my arm?" Castle said quickly.

He was already reaching down and by grabbing a fistful of her coat in one hand he reached his other hand between her legs, gripped her awfully high on the inner thigh, and pulled.

"Jesus Christ, Castle!" Beckett squawked in shock, and she barrelled head first through the window and tumbled onto the ground below.

"Sorry! Sorry." He looked over his shoulder at her as she got to her feet. "Are we good?"

Beckett tugged on his foot hard and pulled him down, off balance, to join her. "Just get down and let's go."

She didn't wait for him to answer, but took off down the hall.

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A/N-

List of requirements for this fanfic

* create gratuitous opportunity for Castle to cop a feel - check!