Chapter 8 - The Last Stand

A/N: There will be one more chapter after this, an epilogue or something. Anyway, this one took me a lot of time to think and write so please, readers, take out just a minute to review if not more :)

- Pardon my grammatical errors.

Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me, I'm just a fan, playing with them :)


They drove together in silence. It was dusk. The lights of the never sleeping city were blinding today instead of being cheerful or elating. The sky was dark and cloudless. Thousands of stars were peeping at them from above, either warning them or giving them encouragement. They pulled up a few metres away from the black van. It was either the writer in Castle because that van looked like a death chariot to him in the faint twilight. They moved out of the car and started walking towards the vehicle parked in complete isolation. The door slid open, revealing a concerned detective waving at them.

'Beckett, Castle...ready?' he asked, looking at them in paranoia.

'Yes we are...' Kate replied while Castle just gulped and nodded.

'Let's not waste any time...' Ryan softly said. He gestured them to get in and they did. He fitted them with wire, starting with Beckett and slowly moving to Castle.

'I'll be able to hear you, if something goes wrong, just say the word and I'll be there... but I'll take at least five minutes to get there... remember that okay?' he looked straight at Castle, explaining the intensity of the situation.

'Got it' Castle nodded giving a thumbs up.

'Esposito's taken his position. He's in the building under construction, overlooking the alley...' Ryan explained to them. Both listened carefully to him without questions or argument.

'Castle, I need you to signal me and we'll be there in five...' Ryan started but was interrupted by Beckett.

'We?' She asked, as she adjusted the wire, completely concealing it.

'I uh-' Ryan didn't know what to say.

'Give the gun already' Castle asked him, changing the topic. Ryan handed him the gun. Castle took it carefully from him. The ivory grips of the .45 ACP felt cold against his hand. He pulled the slide back to ensure a round was chambered.

'You thought I'd give you an unloaded gun Castle?' Ryan asked him, as he checked the cartridge for Beckett's gun.

'Nope... just wanted to do that' Castle replied, smiling goofly at him. Ryan raised an eyebrow and handed Beckett her own gun. Castle and Beckett were wearing a vest underneath their shirt, not visible to the naked eye. They were wired and they both were now wearing a gun, Beckett's safely placed in a gun holster behind her leather jacket while Castle's safely tucked underneath his coat. Castle was holding a folder that contained fake documents and papers.

'All the best... kill him if not arrest' Ryan said to Beckett while he gave Castle a pat on his back. They both smiled at him though the fear was clearly visible on their faces. They at once left the van and started heading towards the alley where it all had started. The journey all the way to the alley took them seven to ten minutes. When they were almost making the turn for it, Beckett slowed down a little and came to a complete stop just before the turn.

Beckett didn't even want to put a foot into that alley again, where her mother had been found stabbed. All the rusty and painful images of her mother's lifeless body started flashing in front of her eyes. The memories of her father clinging on to false hope that she would one day return and refusing to believe the weightiest proof of life started to haunt her. The images of her father drowning in a pool full of alcohol and her mother found bathed in blood started to make her dizzy. Castle saw the vivid change in her expression. How it turned from determination to devastation. He intertwined their hands and squeezed it hard, making the sudden pressure jerk her back into the reality, into the present.

'Let's get him Kate...' he said with confidence, his brazen and clear voice making her look at him. She saw the fire of sacrifice inside him. He saw the fire of revenge inside her, and they together took the turn into the alley, cajoling all the energy stored inside them for the final stand.

It was completely dark, the area being dimly lit by the moonlight and a compact florescent bulb hanging on the left corner, beside a door... nothing else. One could only hear the sound of periodic honking as a car passed by, the sound of their breaths and the slight scuffing of their sneakers though the silence seemed to return and consume all these feeble noises.

They stopped moving forward when they saw a figure emerging from the only door present there. The squeaking of the door clearly showed that it wasn't used much. Soon a man, well built, stepped forward. It was him. Cole Maddox. Castle could feel the air thinning around them just by his mere presence. He definitely suited the description he so often used for a villain in one of his books. Kate's senses heightened and her body tensed, all ready to pounce at the man if situation called for it. Her hand went to the gun holster, just in case.

'Detective, Mr Castle... you at last came... I was thinking of dropping another reminder. I think it was very sweet of me to give you a day or two break...' he said in a cold voice. He had been monitoring the alley... making someone's death-spot his home. His gaze was stuck on the folder that was tightly gripped in Castle's hand. He casually moved forward, stretching his right hand towards Castle.

'You can give it to me now...' he said and Castle just waited for Kate's signal. Kate nodded and as soon as the folder was in Maddox's hand, she grabbed her gun from the holster and pointed it at him, not letting him open the folder and unveil the truth.

'Turn around, hands behind your head!' Beckett shouted, but he casually pulled out his mobile phone and grinned wickedly.

'Can I make a last call?' he asked, but made a call anyway.

'Yes, is he there...'

'Good job, just kill him if you see any one within a ten feet radius... if you see me calling after this, don't pick, just kill him anyway. Blow the place up if things get nasty...' he loudly said, giving Castle and Beckett the warning indirectly. He slipped the phone into his coat pocket when he was done.

'Apparently you're not the only one with a partner...' Maddox hissed, smiling as he saw absolute shock and worry on both his opponent's faces.

'Your sniper is a little tied up, though he went down with a fight, injured my man...' he updated them. God! Esposito.

'You son of a... ' Kate started but was cut off by him.

'You fooled me Detective!' he yelled and threw the folder to the ground in disgust. He took out an old revolver and pointed it at Beckett, his finger vibrating on the trigger in hatred.

'Both of you! Put your guns down! Or I'll make a call and my man there will put a bullet through his skull!' he shouted in frustration. Castle and Beckett both put their guns on the ground while he kicked it far away from them.

He fired four bullets into the sky in frustration. Castle and Kate both knew that a revolver only had six chambers, with four bullets wasted, only two were left.

'You played me... I must say, well done! Let's play a real game now... shall we...' he said in a sarcastic but playful manner.

'I have two bullets, but three of us... I'll rotate the cylinder and let's see whose lucky!' he said, immediately rotating the cylinder, placing the revolver on his head and pressing the trigger. But it came empty. Kate knew that these bullets were meant for both of them and he was aiming for their heads. Wearing a vest had proven useless.

Before he could point the revolver at Castle and press the trigger, Kate gripped his wrist and twisted it. The gun dropped to the floor with a thud. He grappled her but Kate was able to shake him off. Castle was caught in the quickness of it all. He tried to pull Maddox away from Kate and bring his attention on him but that was a wrong move. To deal with Castle now, Maddox moved his hand throw Beckett's hair and tightly cupped her scalp. With all his force, he smashed her head against the bricked alley wall. Her forehead was the first to come in contact with the hard wall. Beckett's eyes closed shut, unable to bear the pain that passed through her body. She dropped to the ground unconscious along with a few chipped off bricks that had cracked out of the sheltering cement and dropped to the ground with her. They were the evidence of the impact Maddox's push had.

Castle couldn't see clearly in the dark but he could see beads of crimson dripping down her hair line. She was hurt and his vision blurred as his eyes started to water just by the sight of her blood.

'NO!'

He didn't care to arrest him. He now fought to kill him.

Castle threw himself at him. All he could see was his back as he was still facing Kate. He swept the world out of his feet and showered his lying body with kicks. Maddox groaned in pain. Castle felt his muscle strain, he felt tears running down his cheek in endless stream but all he could think about was her. He kicked and kicked till his legs started wavering. He let out a breath as Maddox closed his eyes. He took the minute of relief to signal Ryan.

He had to give the signal and get some help. There was no way out. But it would take five minutes for them to come here. Suddenly five minutes looked like five hours to him. Anyway he signalled.

"Get him Ryan! Kate and blood and...Come fast!" He shouted close to the wire.

He was panicking and shivering but soon he was pulled to the ground as well. All he could think was what this man was made up of. Maddox held him to the ground by pressing his neck against it. He punched his face, giving many cuts and bruises.

'Go. To. Hell. Bastard...' Maddox said between punches.

Castle could feel his life flash before him. Mother... Alexis! He thought of all those things he wouldn't be able to do. He wouldn't be able to kiss and praise his daughter again... he wouldn't be able to tell her how proud he is of her, how much he loves her, he wouldn't be able to give her away at her wedding. He wouldn't be able to tell his mother how much he respects her and how much she actually inspires him. He wouldn't be able to place a ring on Beckett's finger, wouldn't be able to see her walk down that isle and live with him forever. He wouldn't be able to change her into a Castle and make Castle babies with her. Most of all, he wouldn't be able to live happily ever after with his family... maybe fairytale endings aren't after all real.

With every punch he could feel the light getting knocked off his eyes until the adrenaline kicked in. His face became numb and he now experienced how death felt like.

Maddox decided to end this quickly. He moved towards the gun lying there. Taking it into his swollen red hands, he was about to fire when suddenly he heard a loud BANG! The sound was deafening.

A bullet had already been fired.

Castle felt his face. It was badly stinging but no bullet hole. He tilted his head towards Kate.

Oh Kate!

There she was, holding a gun and looking at Maddox as his body dropped to the ground. She had hit him right between his eyes. His still and breathless body was a clear example which showed that violence is self consuming. She dropped the gun, unable to bear the weight. Castle crawled towards her and rested her head carefully on his lap. She looked at him, eyes watering as she stared at his face. He looked miserable. His face was red, his nose bleeding, lips swollen and his face having innumerable cuts. He was going to have a black patch around both his eyes. It hurt her to see him like this.

'You okay?' she whispered and Castle just nodded, unable to stop the tears of relief when he heard her beautiful voice. The voice he thought he was never going to hear again.

'I love you...I love you so much Kate...' he broke, unable to stop himself.

'I know...I know...I love you too, you hear me!' Kate tried to console him but she was so overcome by emotions herself.

'Mother, Alexis... you! I thought I was never going to see you all!' he said between sniffs, unable to wipe the tears, it hurt, his cheeks were burning as saline water trickled over them.

'It's over, it's done, he's dead!' Kate said, reassuring him. He looked so fragile that it broke her heart.

Soon the area was flooded with cops. A fleet of cars were gathered outside the small opening of the alley. Ryan was right, they were there in five minutes but a lot had happened in such less time. Beckett and Castle didn't care. They were lost in each other.

'He wasn't bluffing...' Castle stated as he saw the revolver lying beside Kate. Kate had killed Maddox with his own weapon, the one he was going to try on Castle before.

'You saved me twice...' Castle said, tucking his face into her collar bone.

'I'll never stop loving or saving you Castle! Make that clear in your head... writer man' Kate softly spoke as she felt his tears on her collar bone. She just wanted to kiss away all his sorrows; he looked so lost and broken.

'I'm lost without you...' he told her softly, tears still rolling.

'I know, I'm too...' she said, placing a kiss on his neck. He closed his eyes for a brief second, the contact making both of them smile at the new chance they'd been given. It had all ended where it had started.

BOOM!

Soon the smile they shared now turned into utter horror as they heard a blast. Clouds of smoke were coming out of the construction building facing the alley

Esposito...

Supporting each other they rushed out of the alley into the street where already fire-fighters were at work, trying to control the flames, extinguish them. Ryan must have heard the conversation.

'Castle... Espo...' Kate whispered as the feeling of victory turned to defeat. Castle just hugged her tightly, unable to decide what to say. Beckett sunk into him, closing her eyes as soft cries took over her body.

'Oh no... Javi...'

Esposito was like a brother to her, standing with her through all the rough times in her life. She had lost everyone close to her, Montgomery, Royce, her mother and now Javi... she didn't know whether she'll ever be able to cope up with this loss. The sadness of losing him was far greater than the joy of killing her sniper and exposing the men behind her mother's murder. Maybe her life was full of darkness.

'I'm so sorry Kate...' was all Castle was able to say as he rested his chin on her messy hair. He had lost a dear friend and the thought of not seeing him again made him shiver and uncork the bottle of tears again. They just stood there, shaking, holding each other.

'Castle! Beckett! We defeated him...' the jovial voice of Ryan made their heart sink further more. Maybe he still didn't know that his best friend, his partner in crime was no more.

'Why do you two look so broken?' he asked, with a big smile clearly evident on his face. They didn't want to wash that off with the news but they had to.

'Ryan, Javi was...' Kate started but her voice broke.

'Yes Espo's in the ambulance, he escaped before the bomb went off... he's fine!' Ryan said, trying to figure them out.

'OH you two thought...' He started but Castle just pulled him in a hug.

'Wha- he is?' Kate asked with teary eyes. Ryan nodded innocently, smiling at them.

'Kevin Ryan I love you...' Castle said, as he gave a sigh of relief. Beckett wiped the tears instantly and smiled, joining them in a group hug. Thank god!

They all were interrupted by Lanie.

'Kate, you finally caught him...' she said excitedly, taking both her hands into hers.

'Oh my god, what happened to your...' she started but then she saw Castle.

'And... What happened to your...' she asked worriedly. She was glad that they were fine but she needed to fix them up.

'Ambulance NOW!' she said in a commanding voice as she headed towards the ambulance, making sure they followed. Castle and Beckett started walking slowly after her, holding hands when they were stopped by Gates.

'Mr Castle... Detective' they turned to look at her.

'The files are with me, tomorrow they'll be released to the public and each and every one behind this dirty conspiracy will be exposed... I would just like to thank you Mr Castle and Detective... you did a good job!' she said, smiling widely at them. They were reminded of Montgomery, how he always used to tell them after every case that they did a good job. Maybe Gates wasn't that bad?

'And I'm glad you're fine... both of you...' she said, looking at Beckett and then Castle.

'Detective, take time to recover fully as your desk is waiting for you...' she said and then walked away, leaving a grin on Beckett's face. She was still a cop.

'I'm sorry Kate, I didn't tell you about Gate's invol-' Castle started but Kate didn't let him finish.

'You're actually the responsible one here Castle...' she spoke and that much was enough for him.

'And now we're equal... ten-ten... I saved you twice today bringing me to a total of ten...' she said, teasingly to him.

'You're keeping score?' he asked as they started walking towards the ambulance again. Beckett just lifted her gaze to look at him, the white glare of the open ambulance door lighting her face like a spot light.

'Well someone has to keep a check... I'm sure you'll be the one making last minute additions to the guest list on our wedding...' she simply said and started walking. Castle just stood there absolutely stunned at what she'd just said. Our wedding. That did sound nice. Well... they were already living together. Maybe the 'happily ever after' part really is true. Kate was now a few steps ahead of him when she turned and asked-

'You comin Castle?'

Castle just tried to control his joy and nodded, sprinting quickly to keep up with her.

'Y-yeah...'

Hand in hand, they walked towards the ambulance where an extremely impatient Lanie was waiting for them. Castle's many dreams had come true these past few months. He hadn't obviously dreamt of her leaving him the morning after a passionate love making night, but it all had led up to this. In just a month they were at a place where it would've taken them a year to reach. The past month had made her realize his importance and let her know his tough side which was always willing to stand with her. The past month had made him realize her vulnerable and wanting side which needed him more than anything, more than she showed normally. Both completed each other and most of all, this last month had made them realize that they were lost without one another... totally lost.

They maybe two completely different personalities but one thing they both knew was that-

"They need not think alike to love alike."


So I'll write another chapter, epilogue... let's see. All of you who are following this story, do take out a minute to review, it'll make my day. :)

I hope you liked it! Tell me. Your reactions and thoughts matter :D