Disclaimer not mine. I do not own Castle.
Carry Me Home
Kate stared at the doorway, hoping that the man with the gun would somehow disappear. That she would wake up in a few minutes and it had all been a bad dream. The adrenaline coursing through her veins hid the pain in her abdomen. She knew then that the man in the door way had arrived to finish what he had started. He was going to kill her. She flicked her eyes towards Castle as his eyes widened in understanding.
"Rogers, put the gun down." Kate was amazed at how calm her voice sounded in her own ears. Castle raised his eyebrows as he took a step towards her.
"I can't do that." Castle closed his eyes as he heard Rogers answer Kate. All he could think was No! Not here. Not now. Not for the first time he wished he had a gun.
"Put the gun down." Castle almost yelled. Fear had been replaced by pure unadulterated anger. He had never hated anyone before in his life but he hated the man that had hurt Kate. He turned to face him as he heard footsteps marching towards the room. He could only hope it was his friends from the NYPD. He stared at the man that had suddenly turned the gun from Kate's head towards his own.
"Castle." Kate spoke calmly. "Don't do this."
"Me?" He answered. "I am not doing anything." He smiled slightly as he saw Ryan point a gun at his head.
"Put the gun down. NOW!" Ryan barked as his gun was level at his head.
"No."
"You fire that gun and one of two things is gonna happen." Castle spoke, his back still turned towards Kate. He hoped he was protecting her from the madman but he had a feeling it was still the other way around.
"Yeah." Esposito appeared. "Either you blow us all to Kingdom Come, the oxygen in here is gonna explode when you fire the gun or if that doesn't happen the moment you fire your gun I do the same thing and I kill you. Right here, right now." He watched as Ryan jabbed his gun in Rogers' rib cage as Castle seemed to physically sag in relief. Esposito leaned forward and took the gun from the man and began reading him his rights and formally arrested him. Ryan smiled slightly at the partners in front of him.
"You ok?"
"Yeah." Castle smiled. "Yeah, thanks."
"No problem. Kate?" He turned to his old friend. "Beckett?"
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Laine threw her car into the first car parking space she came to. She had no idea if she was allowed to park there or not. Killing the engine she grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and almost ran from the car through the hospital's Emergency Department entrance. She pushed the door open to the main hospital as the policemen dragged their prisoner towards the exit.
"Laine!" Ryan yelled as she held the door open for them.
"Hi." She raised an eyebrow as he smiled at her. "You ok?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, it's over. It's finally over."
"Thank God." Laine sighed as she watched Ryan and Esposito drag away the murder suspect that had caused them all so many problems. She shook her head and smiled before walking along the corridor wondering what she was going to find when she reached her friend and the author she had come to think of as part of the furniture.
xxxxxxxxxxx
Kate smiled slightly as she saw her friends make the arrest. It was over. Castle was alive, Alexis and Martha were both safe and somehow, although how she didn't really understand she was alive. She closed her eyes for a moment as she realised there was no need to be afraid anymore. No one was going to hurt her or the people she cared about.
"Kate?" Castle hadn't realised he had been holding his breath. He smiled slightly as he turned to see her dressed in a hospital gown and leaning against the edge of the bed. She rested a hand over her heavily bandaged abdomen. The smile dropped as he realised she was grimacing in pain as the colour drained from her. "Oh my, Kate." He was at her side in seconds as she drew in a heavy breath.
"We got him."
"Yeah. Yes we did." He smiled slightly as he rested an arm around her shoulders. "You ok?"
"Yeah." She gasped the word out through gritted teeth.
"You don't look it." He pulled the blanket and sheet back on the bed as he saw the colour drain from her face.
"Castle." She rolled her eyes he spoke.
"Kate, don't do this. Don't start all this I am fine routine again. You can ask for help you know. It is allowed." He watched as she met his eyes.
"I." She felt the tears spring to her eyes as the nurse walked into the room, finally allowed to attend to her patient now the police officers had told her it was safe to enter the room.
"Oh." She approached the bed and began helping Castle settle Kate back. "It looks like you have burst a stitch of two. I'll have to change the dressing and get the doctor to check you over, but you should be just fine." The middle aged woman smiled as she saw the relief cross Castle's face. "And you stop worrying, your girlfriend here is going to be just fine." The soft texan accent made Kate smile. Then she realised what the older woman had said and immediately began to panic. Castle held her hand and smiled as the nurse left the room to locate the doctor.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Alexis grabbed the cell phone from the nightstand the moment it had rung. She had been desperate to hear what had happened at the hospital. She knew Kate had been in trouble but she had no idea if it was really over. Martha sat on the edge of the teenager's bed as she watched her granddaughter answer the call.
"Ok Dad." She paused as she avoided her grandmother's eye. "I'll tell her. Yeah. Ok. And um Dad?"
Martha smiled slightly, she had an idea that things were settling down. She knew her grandchild well enough to know what was going on in her eyes.
"I love you too Dad. Oh tell Kate." She smiled as Martha raised an eyebrow. "Tell her to take care and we'll see her soon yeah? Ok bye!"
"So?" Martha watched as the smile crept across Alexis' face.
"So, it's ok. I think it's ok."
xxxxxxxxxxx
"When can I get out of here?" Kate stared at Castle. For the first time since she had been rushed to the hospital she realised how tired Castle actually looked.
"Soon." He smiled as he felt her touch his hand. "You have to get well first."
"They got the bullet out."
"I know."
"How soon can I get out of here?"
"Not long, in a few days. You just have to heal. Laine has been trying to get hold of your Dad."
"Castle, she'll never find him. Dad is a bit of a recluse. He's travelling in Europe."
"Oh." He shook his head as he touched her hand. The idea of not being there when his daughter needed him filled him with horror. He had no idea how Kate's father would feel when he found out his only daughter had been in hospital because someone had wanted to kill her.
"Castle, look at me." Kate waited as he dragged his eyes up to hers. "I am fine. I will be fine." He screwed his eyes shut as a tear threatened to fall.
"Honestly." He paused as he gathered his thoughts. He knew the last time he had felt this awful was when he had seriously considered ending their partnership. He knew now that was just jealousy. Although at the time he didn't know why. "Honestly, you say you are fine. And that's great. I know you are going to be ok. I know that."
"Rick." Castle wiped at his eyes as Kate stared at him. Her brown eyes full of concern as he avoided her gaze. He knew she was scared, there was only a handful of times she had used his first name.
"Thing is. Well, the thing is. I'm not." He stopped "I'm not fine. And I am glad you are going to be. Don't get me wrong. I am glad you are getting well but I can't do this. I can't do this."
"You can't do what?" Kate was suddenly very nervous. Rogers had been caught. He knew about her past with her ex fiance. There was nothing else to be scared of, not now.
"Can't sit here and pretend everything is as it was. I love you and I nearly lost you and now that you are going to be ok you are pushing me away again. I held you in my arms and you were bleeding Kate. I thought you were going to die and I was terrified and now you act as if everything is just the same. Well it isn't not for me anyway." He paused as she shook her head slightly.
"Castle."
"No." He subconsciously checked behind him for mad gunmen. "No. Listen to me. I can't do this anymore. If you insist on being alone. On being Miss Idependent all the Goddamn time I will leave. I'll have to because I can't just sit by and watch you get hurt."
"We're partners"
"Maybe. Maybe I won't write anymore. There are other things to do with my life that don't involve holding the woman I love in my arms after a psycho has shot her." He wiped another tear. "You did all this on your own before the Mayor dumped me into your life. You'll do it again." He pushed his chair away as he dropped her hand. Kate was dumbfounded. This was it. It was over. For a moment she wished she had died. It couldn't hurt as much as she was hurting now. "Maybe I should just let you get on being Miss Independent. You obviously don't need me."
"Castle."
He walked to the door as Kate struggled to think of a way to let him know that she needed him. That she didn't want to break up the partnership. To break up them.
"Bye Detective." He touched the doorhandle as Kate flung the bedclothes from her legs and stood up. She knew she was risking her wound opening again but she didn't care.
"Rick! Please!" She was on the verge of tears as he turned to face her. "Don't go please."
"Why?" Castle held her gaze. Every instinct in his body made him want to run to her side but he knew he couldn't. There was no way she would want him to.
"Because." She wanted to blurt out all the reasons she wanted him to stay but she bit her lip.
"I thought so." He sighed. "Take care Kate."
"Don't leave me." Kate cursed herself as the words slipped from her tongue.
He took a step towards her.
"Why?"
"I can't do this on my own. I need you." She watched as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I love you."
Castle said nothing else. Smiling slightly he touched her lips with his own. Kate's eyes slipped closed as she felt him touch her cheek.
"Get some rest." He ushered her back to bed. "If I am going to get you home you have to get well." He watched as she blushed.
"Home Castle?"
He nodded. For a moment as Kate stared in to his tear filled eyes she thought she was already there.
A/N as if I would kill her! Or Castle. Never gonna happen. Please review. I think there is just one more chapter after this. :D