Set during Kill Shot. When Beckett hides at the office building and has her breakdown, Castle follows her. Author's note at the end.
"Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them." - Veronica Roth, Divergent
Be Near
"Kate!"
She barely hears him call after her, just one thought in her mind, that she needs to get out of there. Away from the victim, away from the case, away from him. He insists at being right there, all the time, and all she needs is a little space.
She blindly pushes through a door, not knowing or caring where it leads to as long as she can breathe. Her chest is on fire, her lungs constricting, memories flooding back of that day in the cemetery and she can't breathe. But then she hears him calling her name, over and over, his voice not fading like she needs it to. No, it's only getting louder.
No. No, no, no, no.
She blocks out the sound of the door opening, the footsteps stopping as she strips off her jacket, throws her badge and gun on the floor. She barely registers his movements, slow and tentative, as she finally breaks.
She can't do this.
The fear in the most recent victim's eyes, the pleading to keep her safe from the unknown assailant, that was the last straw. The straw that broke the detective's back.
She's only slightly startled when he touches her shoulder, whispers her name, pulls her into his arms. She stiffens at first, but when her legs fail her and she starts to sink to the floor he follows, and she's grateful for his support.
"I'm sorry," he murmurs into her hair, words laced with worry, as one arm slides to her waist.
She returns his embrace, finally snaking her arms around him. They aren't exactly huggers – she can count on one hand the number of times she's been in his arms – but she lets herself sink into the breadth of his chest.
They sit like that for several minutes, wrapped in each other's arms, his shirt soaking up her tears. Finally, after her sobs subside and his whispers fade, she pulls away, eyes downcast, not willing to see the pity she's sure his hold. Her eyes land on the wet spot on his shirt, wet with her tears and twin black smudges from her mascara. Her hand lifts of its own accord to touch it.
"Sorry," she mutters before taking her bottom lip in her teeth. "I think I ruined it."
"It's fine." He notices the bandage on her wrist then and takes her hand, eyeing the blood seeping through the gauze. He ducks his head to look at her, forcing her eyes to meet his. "What happened?" he asks roughly, his voice low.
She reaches for her jacket. "Rough night." When he doesn't let go of her hand, she gives him what she hopes is her best glare. It doesn't work; he only tightens his grip. "I'm fine. I broke some glass, I got cut. That's it." He doesn't need to know about her panic attack, the shattered end table, the glass that still litters the living room floor. She slides her jacket on, grabs her badge and gun, stands. "Let's go."
He catches her right before she reaches the door. He almost reaches up to cup her face, wipe the tears and smudged makeup from her cheeks, but settles for giving her his handkerchief instead. "Whatever you need, Kate. Just let me know. Okay?"
She wipes her face, takes a deep breath, straightens her shoulders, and she's a cop again. "Okay." She stills with her hand on the doorknob. He sees her dip her head slightly, then lifts it again to give him a small smile. "Just give me a little time?"
His own lips curl, mirror her expression. Neither smile reaches their eyes; it isn't much, but it's enough for that moment. "Always."
FIN
A/N: Awhile ago I saw a prompt on castlefanficprompts on Tumblr that simply said "All I want is for Caskett to hug during Kill Shot." I personally loved how the episode handled Kate's PTSD, how she didn't lean on Castle the whole time. That she and Espo had a moment, that Castle recognized he couldn't push her, gave her space. But I really liked the prompt (a nice hug can make a huge difference in a person's day imo) and I didn't like a hug at any other point in the episode, so I decided to write it anyway.