DISCLAIMER: The characters of the television show, CASTLE does not belong to me. They belong to the ABC network. I'm borrowing them for a little while, for my enjoyment and hopefully yours as well. I am getting no financial gain from this.

Chapter 11

The mayor's gun rang out, and Kate reacted. She grabbed Castle's gun from his hand and fired off the remaining rounds into the mayor. Then she watched as the man that she had voted for, the man who basically was her boss fell to the ground dead. A huge weight seemed to have lifted off Kate's shoulders as she saw his eyes close. But then she heard Castle stumble backwards.

"Castle?" she asked concerned as she turned to face him. And that's when she saw the bullet hole in his chest. With a horrifying jolt she realized that the mayor's bullets must have been Teflon coated, which meant that Castle's bulletproof vest didn't stand a chance.

Castle just looked down at his wound at Kate with wide eyes and a pale face. She hadn't often seen fear in his eyes, but as Castle slumped against the wall and fell the ground she could not only see his fear, but she felt it too.

"No," she pleaded as she put her hands against the wound. "Castle."

"K.." he sputtered, some blood on the corner of his mouth.

"Oh god," Kate whispered as the door to the room suddenly opened up. Ryan and Esposito entered and the moment that they saw that Castle was hurt they were both on their cell phones calling for an ambulance.

"Stay with me Rick," she pleaded as she looked into his face. "Stay with me."

"Kate…" he whispered.

"Shush," she ordered. "Don't say anything."

"L—love you," he breathed out as he gave a shudder.

"They're about four minutes out," Esposito said, but Kate didn't hear him.

"I know," she said with a nod as she kept her hands tight against his wound.

Castle gave her a weak smile before his eyes closed.

"No!" Kate shouted as she felt for a pulse. When she found one she thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't dead yet and prayed that the ambulance would get there soon.

…

The ride to the hospital was some of the most nerve wracking moments of Kate's life. The minute that the paramedics had found them, they had instantly set to work on stabilizing Castle. When they got to the hospital, Kate could only watch as he was taken into surgery. At first she was terrified, but then when she saw Josh entering the operation room, she felt as though everything was falling apart.

"Kate," he said in surprise as he came over to her. "Are you—?"

"Save him," she pleaded.

Josh looked to the doors. "That's…?"

"Rick," Castle choked out. "Please. I know that things between us have ended badly… but if you cared for me at all you'll do whatever it takes to save him."

Josh just looked at Kate, feeling very defeated. She could see how much she loved the writer and knew that there was no way that he'd ever have a chance. "I'm a Doctor," he said in a monotone voice. "I'll do my job."

Kate nodded and allowed Ryan to lead her to a chair.

Twenty minutes later Alexis and Martha came bursting into the operation room. "My Dad?" Alexis asked at once, looking to Kate. "Is he?"

"In surgery," she answered as she stood up. "Alexis, Martha… I'm so sorry."

"Think nothing of it," Martha stated as she hugged Kate. "My son has always been willing to risk his life for you, but he's tough as nails. I know that he's going to be alright."

…

The hours seemed to drag by. Kate, Alexis and Martha all sat beside each other, occasionally swapping humorous Castle stories, but spending the majority of the time in silence. Ryan and Esposito were called back to the precinct where Kate was sure they'd be chewed out by their new boss for defying orders and she wondered if they'd even have jobs at the end of the new Captain's rant.

Kate's father Jim came by with a change of clothes and was so thankful that his daughter had been returned to him. "I was so scared for you," he whispered to her in a quiet corner of the operation waiting room. "What if I had lost you?"

"I can't do this anymore," she murmured as she looked at her hands.

"Kate?" he asked.

Kate looked at her father. "Being a cop. I can't do this."

"Now Kate,"

"If I wasn't a cop, Castle wouldn't have wanted to shadow me and if he hadn't wanted to shadow me then we wouldn't have got in this mess and he wouldn't be lying on that operating table now—"

"You can't stop being a cop," Alexis piped up, Kate's voice had carried to the other side of the small room, so the red-haired girl had obviously heard every word. "You've done so much good work."

Kate shook her head. "I don't know how you can say that."

"I can say that because you've done so much good for my Dad."

"Alexis,"

"Detective," Alexis interrupted. "You might think that you've gotten my Dad into this mess, but the truth is that he could have been in this position during any of his researching for any of his other books. It's the nature of his job."

"He's a writer," Kate pointed out.

Alexis shook her head. "He's not just a writer. He's your partner, your friend."

"Then this is my fault."

"No," Alexis insisted. "Don't you see? You've changed his life. For the better."

Kate just stared at the young girl as she continued on.

"Before you, my Dad was a bit of a mess. He was a great writer and a great father sure, but he wasn't really happy. He bounced around from relationship to relationship, marriage to marriage. He had everything in the world except someone that he could trust with his heart and soul…"

"What are you saying Alexis?"

Alexis backed away, shaking her head. "I'm not saying anything that isn't my place to say, but I know that if my Dad had a choice between knowing you and being in this situation now or not knowing you and being at home right now… he'd choose you a thousand times over."

Finally, just when they were beginning to lose hope, Josh emerged from the emergency room. Kate could tell the minute that her former boyfriend emerged that Castle was going to be okay, and she instantly pushed pass so that she could see Castle being wheeled through to the ICU.

"He's going to be alright I think," Josh was telling Martha and Alexis. "Though we'll know in a couple hours."

"When can I see him?" Kate asked, turning around.

"I want the nurses to give you a once over, make sure that you're alright and then you can sit with him," Josh answered with a small smile. Kate gave him a thank you smile in return and then watched as he walked away.

…

The nurses checked her out, and she was fine just as she knew that she was. Her stitches were still in place, and aside from being slightly dehydrated; there was nothing wrong with her. Once she was given a clean bill of health, and a change of clothes, she was taken to Castle's private room in intensive care and watched through the window as Alexis and Martha sat with him. She stayed outside, sitting on a chair thinking about all the things she wanted to say to Castle when he woke up.

First and foremost she was going to tell him how she felt. He had told her twice that he loved her, and Kate hadn't been able to return the sentiment. Second she was going to tell him off for nearly getting himself killed and third, she was going to kiss him. It was something that she had wanted to do ever since they had kissed while they were undercover. It had started out as something to keep the bad guys off guard, but Kate had found herself going back in for more.

That was the moment, she realized. The moment that she couldn't deny her feelings any more and even though she had inklings of how she felt back when Castle left for the Hamptons for the summer so that he could get his book written she had never been in a place where she could actually admit to anyone let alone herself how she felt about her shadow.

"Kate dear?" Martha asked with a soft voice, interrupting Kate's musings. "Alexis and I are going to return to the apartment to get a few things for him, do you want to watch him for a while?"

Kate nodded. "I'd like that."

Martha gave her a smile. "Good dear. We'll see you in a little while."

Martha and Alexis left, and Kate walked into Castle's room.

TBC

Author's Note: Okay, I lied. One more chapter to go. Don't hate me. And please review. :D