Thanks for the encouragement. I'm glad to see positive comments about my efforts at this episode.

Here's Part 2

Disclaimer: Do you really think I could possibly come up with these characters? No, thought not. I couldn't get close.

Chapter 10

Cops and Robbers (Part 2)

After managing to scrape together a vaguely appetizing salad from the meagre contents of her fridge, Kate quickly returned to the diary.

Trapper John was back in contact. It appeared that one of the hostages had had a seizure and in an unusual fit of generosity he was requesting a paramedic to remove the sick man. However, in return, the bus had to be there in twenty minutes. It was still thirty five minutes away and Peterson expected me to ask Trapper John for more time. Well I knew there wasn't a snowball in hell's chance of him agreeing to that.

Peterson's next suggestion, though, sent a chill right through me; storming the bank. There was no way we could do that, hostages would die, Castle might well be one of them. I had to come up with another idea. Then it came to me; the sick hostage. I finally had a plan, a way to use my experience to help and it didn't hurt that, if I was allowed to do this, I'd be able to see Castle, check for myself how he was holding up. I put my idea to Peterson and was slightly surprised when he actually agreed to it.

The plan was for me to go in dressed as a paramedic and, while treating the hostage, gather as much intelligence as possible so, if it came to a SWAT team having to breach the bank, they would at least have more to go on. I was nervous as I waited for a uniform but I'd been in plenty of undercover situations before. This was something I did know how to do.

I approached the doors of the bank, pushing a gurney. As I was allowed in, I really hoped I'd managed to school my features because the very first person I laid eyes on was Castle. He looked up and almost did a double take as he realised it was me standing there and not actually a paramedic. I could immediately tell that he was scared but I could also see total trust, trust in my ability to help. We gazed at each other for a brief moment but it was long enough to say plenty. We've always been able to convey so much with our eyes. While I was searched, I was able to look around and establish the fact that all the hostages appeared to be alive and well, apart from the guy with the seizure, and were gathered together on the floor of the banking hall. As for the robbers, they seemed to be exactly as Castle had originally described them, well armed, wearing scrubs and very professional. I also noticed Castle writing a note and hiding it in his hand.

I then got into character and portrayed the perfect paramedic, which allowed me the opportunity to talk to Castle and I grasped it in both hands. The hostage's name was Sal Martino and in speaking reassuring words to Sal, I hoped Castle understood that the words were really meant for him and him alone,

"I want you to know there are people out there that care about you. I promise you, I'll get you out of here."

I even managed to give Castle's hand a slight squeeze as we snatched another glance at each other. The moment was cut short by one of the robbers encouraging me to get a move on. As Castle and I lifted Sal onto the gurney and strapped him down, he slipped the note I'd noticed earlier into my hand. Then I had to leave. I pushed the gurney out through doors and took one last, lingering look back at Castle, hoping that he understood that I would do everything in my power to get him out. The doors closed and I had to get on with the job of fulfilling my promise.

At the very least, I could now reassure Alexis that her dad was indeed okay but as I did so I read the note and suddenly I thought my heart was planning on leaving my chest. There was C4 in the bank. Why the hell would they need C4? I made sure Alexis was taken well away, behind the cordon before returning to the Command Centre to report back to Captain Peterson.

I was then given the impossible task of trying to persuade Trapper John to give us more time for the bus. I called him up and guess what? He refused; big surprise there. He also seemed to start to lose his cool. I tried to calm him down, wishing someone could calm me down, wishing I had Castle's voice telling me, "You've got this, Kate." The next thing I heard was a scream that sounded suspiciously like Martha, followed by a gunshot. I froze.

"What was that?" I asked. Evidently it was a warning shot. The next one would be for the kill and it appeared that Castle was the one in the firing line.

"I'm gonna make pretty red stains out of your boyfriend, Kate. I've got my gun to his throat and I'm gonna paint a Jackson Pollock with his insides."

That did it for me. Cool totally gone. Peterson may have spoken but I just laid into Trapper John. No-one threatens the man I love, simple as that, no-one.

"Listen to me, jackass." Yeah, that was keeping the situation calm, Kate.

"I do not control traffic so you're gonna have to give me twenty minutes."

He gave me one.

"No, I've got twenty, do you hear me, twenty. Because if you pull that trigger, I will walk through those doors and personally put a bullet through your skull."

What was it Captain Peterson had told me earlier, don't yell, don't bully, don't threaten him in any way. I think I may not have listened too well. But the truth is, I would have done exactly what I said and therefore it wasn't a threat, it was a promise.

The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity. Had I just signed Castle's death warrant? Had my lack of self-control put the rest of the hostages in the firing line? But then, completely out of the blue, Trapper John gave us another twenty minutes. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard but Captain Peterson was willing to accept the extra time at face value.

As the minutes ticked by, the team in the Command Centre were planning an assault on the bus but I was totally preoccupied. He'd given me an extra twenty minutes without asking for anything in return. That just wasn't right. Hostage takers never give without taking something. Add another item to the list of things that made absolutely no sense in all of this.

I tried talking to Ryan and Esposito again but they had nothing new. They were just telling me about Agnes's lack of relatives when my world suddenly ended. Or at least, that was how it felt. An explosion rocked the Command Centre. In that moment my heart stopped. I couldn't breathe. I managed to make my way to the door and outside. The bank had turned into something akin to a war zone. There was dust, smoke and debris everywhere. As I gazed in horror at the sight, I knew that was it, Castle was dead. The hostages had been in the main banking hall and from what I could tell, that was pretty close to the source of the explosion. They simply could not have survived that blast.

I had to get into that bank. I had to find him. A flicker of hope stirred in my brain and as the team entered the bank I was right there with them, shouting Castle's name. The damage was extensive but not devastating. The flicker shone a little brighter. Then, as I shouted a third time, came the most joyous sound I have ever heard,

"Beckett?"

That one word and my life began again. My heart resumed normal service. I found all the hostages alive and well sitting on the floor of the vault. They all had their hands tied but, strangely, the door was not even locked. I looked at Castle who gave me a smile and a small wave with his bound hands. I had never seen a better sight in my life. I went into the vault having alerted the rest of the team to their whereabouts but I only had eyes for one man. I fell onto my knees at his feet and couldn't keep the smile off my face. He looked so good; alive and still as ruggedly handsome as ever. I cut the ties binding his hands and couldn't help but put my hand out, playing a little with his collar as I asked him how he was. We gazed into each others eyes, there was so much more I wanted to tell him and, by the look on his face, so much he was ready to hear but,

"He's not the only one here, you know."

Martha. How could I have forgotten that he wasn't the only person I knew in that bank? I hastily stammered out an apology and freed Martha's hands, too. God, the look on Castle's face was a picture.

The robbers had intended to blast a hole in the floor and escape into the subway but they'd messed up and the C4 had gone off early and killed them. Those guys were professionals. There was no way they could have made such a basic error but their scattered body parts seemed to suggest that they had. Neither Castle nor I could quite comprehend it. Yet another piece of this whole puzzle that didn't seem to fit.

As we left the bank, there was a very happy reunion of the Castle family. Alexis flung herself into her father's arms. Martha joined the embrace and I stood and watched, feeling somehow left out which was totally unfair and uncalled for, until Alexis looked up, caught my eye and I could tell she was thanking me for keeping my promise. Just like that, I felt included, a part of that family embrace; it felt wonderful.

I still had a job to do, though. I went over to talk to Ryan and Esposito who'd returned from Agnes Fields' place. Ryan showed me a photograph of Ron Brandt, Agnes's son-in-law and pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. It was Sal Martino, the hostage who'd been taken to hospital. He'd checked himself out and was now in the wind. He was behind it all but why?

We returned to the precinct and looked into Brandt's background and it didn't take us very long to find the motive for the charade. His wife, Tanya, and son, Connor, had faked their deaths to escape from Brandt's abuse. The Safe Deposit Box had been a means of communicating between Tanya and her mother and the letters retrieved from the box would tell Brandt exactly where his wife and son were living. We had to get to them first.

We tracked down a priest who had been posing as Gideon Fields and acting as a go-between. When we explained the situation to him, he gave us the address in Ithaca. I got straight on to the cops there who sent a team to the house immediately. They kept us on hold. The wait seemed interminable but was probably no more than seven or eight minutes. Then the news came through. They'd got there in time. Ron Brandt was under arrest, Connor was fine and so was Tanya other than needing a few stitches. The relief we all felt was immense. Ryan and Esposito headed off to Ithaca to bring Brandt back while Castle and I simply allowed the peace to flow over us for a moment.

Castle soon brought us back to reality, though,

"Even as a hostage, I help you solve murders. Beckett, I think you have the perfect partner."

Tell me something I don't know, Castle.

"Yeah, except he doesn't like doing paperwork!" was how I actually replied. Well, I wasn't going to stoke his ego, was I?

I offered to take him to the Old Haunt for a drink but he went one better and invited me back to the loft for dinner. After the day we'd had, how could I refuse? Well, frankly, there was absolutely zero chance of me refusing.

When we arrived at the loft I was enveloped in an enormous hug by Martha. It was quite overwhelming but on the other hand, it also just felt right. I felt ...home. The spread was massive, way too much food for the four of us but Martha had insisted that after facing death we had to feast, to celebrate life. Fair comment. Castle had excused himself so he could check on Alexis who, I gathered, was having boyfriend problems but when he returned we toasted each other and he totally ruined the moment by telling me that he'd saved my life more than I'd saved his. Now I may just be a little competitive so I couldn't let that go without arguing my side. The discussion would have gone on all evening, I suspect, had Martha and Alexis not shut us up by suggesting that after the day we'd all had, talking about death was not high on their list of dinner topics.

I had an amazing evening. I love that family and hope that someday...

Kate wasn't too sure how to complete that thought even with her new found honesty but she did feel much better now. The day had ended on a high. The hostages were all safe and back with their families. Castle and Martha were both alive and well. Still, she needed to be sure. She knew Castle was at a meeting all day so she couldn't speak to him but she decided he'd probably be so bored by now that he'd welcome the distraction of a quick text.

Hey, Castle. You okay?

Sure enough, the reply was instant.

Bored to tears but, yeah, I'm fine. You?

I'm okay. Tired tho'. Bad dreams.

She was a little surprised by the reply,

Tell me about it!

So he'd had nightmares, too.

You too?

Yeah! Oh hell, ex #2's giving me the evil eye. I'm supposed to be concentrating on this boring stuff. Better go. See you tomorrow, Kate.

Oops, Gina had obviously caught him texting.

Sorry for getting you into trouble! Just needed to know you were okay. Tomorrow, Castle.

You can get me into trouble anytime! Why, Detective Beckett, do I sense a note of concern for my well-being?

Her reply was immediate,

Always.

Hope you enjoyed this. It's always good to hear what you think.