Hey guys! Before I say anything else, I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I meant to have a chapter out soon, I really did, but then life got in the way, as it always seems to. I really am quite sorry. I know I hate waiting for chapter updates, so I feel awful making all of you wait for mine. Having said that, I am still enormously surprised with what great reception this story has been getting. Your reviews fill me with absolute joy every time I read them. Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to comment. This chapter here isn't very monumental, in fact, it's kind of short. I meant for it to be longer and more exciting, but it just didn't turn out that way. This probably partially stems from the fact that I wanted to get something up as soon as possible for you guys. I hope you enjoy it anyway, and please leave a review on your way out! Also, just a warning - we're nearing the end of the story. I estimate two or three chapters left, depending on where the characters take me. Thanks for reading!

Kate awoke feeling more peaceful than she had in a long time. She simply breathed for a moment, taking in the sounds of the room. And then she realized it. She was here, laying on a hospital bed with Castle. She was tucked into a sleeping Castle, who had his arm wrapped around her and whose chest was rising and falling like that of a man who is alive. Because Castle is alive. And he's here with her. And he's going to be alright.

She glanced towards the clock on the wall; it was about eleven in the afternoon. She had been here all night, after finding Castle around ten o'clock the previous night and then staying through his surgery until the early hours of the morning. Kate had to admit that she was surprised she had fallen asleep; it was the first time she had slept well since this whole ordeal started. And she hadn't even been in a suitable bed, but rather curled up next to her…

What was he, now? Boyfriend? Partner? Kate frowned. It would be yet another conversation they would have to have, and soon. But for now, she was content with the fact that he was Castle, he was alive, and he was hers.

Kate slowly unfolded herself from his side and rose to her feet, a little shakily. She looked back at him for a moment, smiling slightly at the peaceful expression on his sleeping face. She wanted him to rest as much as he could; he probably hadn't slept in days. Or eaten. Had he eaten? What, exactly, had it been like back there, in the warehouse?

Kate swallowed back the creeping panic that inched its way up her throat, trying to calm herself. She would talk with Castle – she had to. He had faced some awful things, and she would have to be strong for him. She would have to hold his hand while he told her about the horrors he faced and she would have to keep herself from crying. She could do it. She had to do it.

She would be there for him and he would get better. And then everything… everything would be fine. Everything would be perfect, in fact. Because they would finally be together and happy and so very much in love.

The grin came back to Kate's face quickly with that thought, and she decided to creep out of the room to make a couple of quick phone calls without disturbing Rick. She needed to call Martha and Alexis – she told them she would as soon as he woke up, but then they talked and she fell asleep.

Martha picked up after a couple of rings and was pleased to hear from Kate. She seemed to know a little too much as Kate explained her delay in calling, but was happy to know that Rick was doing okay. She and Alexis would be by once more during the day before leaving for the safe house again. Kate knew Rick wouldn't be happy about this; he would want to be with his family, and rightly so. It would be hard for him to leave them again, but hopefully the whole ordeal would be over soon, and Martha and Alexis could come back home.

Kate gave the precinct a quick call and then turned back towards Castle's room. When she stepped through the doorway, he was propped up in his bed, his face tightened in pain and his eyes squeezed shut. Kate's pulse quickened a little as she rushed to his side. His hand was holding onto the side of the bed with a death grip, a grip that Kate happily took on as she squeezed his hand with hers.

"Castle, are you okay? What's wrong?"

His eyes snapped open and he looked over to her almost pleadingly. They were red-rimmed, slightly wet. The pain must have been very intense.

"It… it just, God. And when I woke up… you weren't here to distract me from the pain."

Kate swallowed. "Oh, Castle, I'm so sorry. I was just… I was just making some phone calls. But I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

He breathed heavily for a moment. "Okay."

They sat in silence for some time. The tight grip on Beckett's hand let up after a while, and Castle leaned his head back against the pillow, a small smile stretching across his face as he looked at Kate.

"Good morning." He said softly.

"Hey." And they stared at each other, content. Until the precinct called again, and reality set in. Kate dismissed Montgomery as quickly as she could; she needed to be with Castle. The Captain seemed to understand – he gave her a quick update on the case and then let her go.

Castle looked at her phone for a moment, a tired gaze in his eyes. "What did Montgomery want?"

"He was wondering when we he could talk to you, actually." She kept her voice gentle.

"About the Checkmate Killer."

Kate squeezed his hand softly. "Yeah."

Castle closed his eyes, leaning back. "I don't know who he is." There was silence for a moment. "He said he knew me, he saw me every day. But I have no idea." He swallowed hard, and Kate's heart seemed to tear a little, watching his pain.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll figure this out. But as soon as you're ready, you're going to have to tell us everything you can remember about him. Okay?"

He watched her for a moment. "Okay."

Castle was in a lot of pain, but his injuries weren't serious enough to keep him at the hospital for long. The doctor released him the following morning, under the condition that he would have somebody with him at all times. Castle seemed happy to leave the stuffy hospital, though Kate was pretty certain that part of that happiness had to do with the fact that her hand was currently tangled in his.

She hadn't left him yet, and hadn't wanted to. Lanie (while freaking out about Kate and Castle) had brought her some supplies and she had spent the night in the hospital with him. All of that stuff was now packed in the back of the taxi that was taking Rick and Kate back to the detective's apartment.

"So… what are we going to do from here?" Castle asked, his voice soft.

"Well, we're going to go home." Kate paused. It was home, with him. He was home. "And… I don't really know. I'll work at the apartment until you're fit to come into work or something. We'll figure it out."

"You need to go the Precinct, Kate. It'll be so troublesome to work from home."

"I'm not going to you leave you there alone, Castle."

He let out a long breath, but didn't reply for a moment. When he did, his voice was barely loud enough for Kate to make out the words. "I hate being an inconvenience to you."

Kate leaned closer to him, squeezing his hand gently. "Hey. Knock it off. You're not an inconvenience to anybody, Castle."

He gave her a weak smile, but his eyes looked a little lighter at her words. He pulled her in closer, wrapping an arm around her tentatively. Kate noticed the slight wince he gave, but let him continue. They needed this. She leaned against his shoulder, closing her eyes and breathing in all that was Castle. He leaned his head into her hair, holding her as close as he could.

"I'll get back to work with you as quickly as I can," he whispered, "We're in this together."

"Always."

The day had passed agonizingly slowly. All Kate had wanted to do was curl up with Castle and never get up again, but the thought of the Checkmate Killer – still out there, still ready to get them – it kept her away from the arms of her writer. He had stuck around in the living room while she started to work on wading through the latest evidence, but Kate had finally dismissed him to bed around ten o'clock. He was exhausted and needed sleep, especially if he wanted to come into the Precinct anytime soon.

Kate sighed, throwing yet another file onto the coffee table. What she really needed was information from Castle. She needed a description, a detailed account of his time held hostage. But it was unfair to push him so far so quickly. She was willing to give him another night without having to recall the information, but in the meantime, she couldn't help but work through every detail of the case that she could to find her own evidence.

It was somebody that Kate had never met. At least, if she could trust what the man said over the phone. Somebody that Kate had never met but somebody who knew Castle. Somebody who had seen Castle every day, but somebody that Castle didn't know. Kate tried to mentally trace the past few years of Castle's life. She wrote down key events and tried to fill the spaces between those events, but found it increasingly difficult to separate Castle's life from her own as she got closer to present day. Their lives had become so entwined, to the point where Kate was even familiar with many of Castle's publishing agents and coworkers. So who could this killer be?

A soft voice came from her bedroom, calling her name. Kate glanced at the clock – it was three in the morning. How had time passed so quickly? She could have sworn it had been merely fifteen minutes since she sent Castle to her bed. She had planned to get to sleep soon after, on the couch, but she had to keep working on the case.

"Kate?" Castle called again, and Kate stood, moving towards her bedroom.

"What's up, Castle?"

He was sitting up slightly, an adorably sleepy look on his face. "What are you still doing up?"

Kate fidgeted a little. He wouldn't like her answer. "I'm just… going over some things with the case."

"Now? Kate, it's three in the morning."

"I know, Castle. I'll go to bed soon, I promise." She turned towards the door, ready to leave, but Castle's voice stopped her again.

"No, Kate."

"Castle –"

"No," he interrupted her again, a pained look on his face. "I know you. I know that as soon as you go back out there, you're going to pick up those files and you're going to lose yourself in them. You need sleep, Kate."

Kate crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, conflicted. She wanted to sleep, she did – she was exhausted. But the thought of the Checkmate Killer was still there, in the back of her mind. "I need to catch him, Castle." Her voice sounded so weak. She immediately wished she could take the words back, but they were there, floating sadly in the air between them.

Castle's expression softened. "Come here." He opened his arms, gesturing to the bed.

"No, Castle, it's fine, you're injured…"

"Kate, come here. You're certainly not going to hurt me."

Kate was still for a moment, but then closed the distance between them in a few short strides. She perched on the edge of the bed, watching him. He rolled his eyes and reached out to her, pulling her closer. Eventually she gave in, snuggling against him.

"We're gonna get him." Castle whispered into her ear, stroking her hair. It was so… comfortable. And perfect. "But not tonight."

Kate fist was balled up in his shirt as she pressed herself into him. Why was she crying? Why was he the one being so wonderful? Why was he the one doing all the comforting? "I'm sorry, Castle."

"For what?"

"For… I don't know. For everything. For letting you get captured. For taking so long to find you. For making you comfort me. For… for letting you down."

Castle was silent for a long moment, in which he pulled Kate as close as he possibly could with his injuries. Then, slowly, he began to speak. "Kate. There's no reason for you to be sorry. For anything. You haven't let me down – hell, Kate, you're the only reason I'm still here. You are the most inspiring woman I have ever met, and you never cease to amaze me. For that reason alone, I'm glad that I can give you some comfort. You deserve it, Kate."

Kate looked at him for a moment. His eyes were shining their brilliant blue, a soft smile lighting up his face. She leaned forward and closed the distance with a soft kiss, one full of tenderness. "I love you, Castle."

Castle smiled, letting Kate rest into his side once again. "I know. And that makes me the happiest man in the world."

Kate handed Castle a large cup of coffee. Its rich brown liquid let out thin tendrils of steam that billowed into the air, filling them with a sense of warmth and comfort. It was one of the many reasons that Kate loved coffee so much.

Castle smiled at her, taking a long sip of his coffee. He was unusually quiet. His eyes were dull and focused thoroughly on the coasters on her table. Then, softly, he lifted his eyes and spoke.

"It was terrible, Kate."

Kate swallowed hard, unsure of how to proceed from here. Castle was ready to talk, at least a little, and that was good. She wanted to be there for him and to talk with him. But still, she wasn't sure she could really handle hearing all of the gory details, of hearing exactly how Castle had become so injured.

"You want to tell me about it?" She said, gently.

He was silent for another long moment. "It was dark. And cold. And when I woke up, at first… I thought that maybe…" He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "I thought I was in Hell." Kate tried to keep a calm look on her face. Tried to give Castle strength. "I woke up and there was so much pain from where he had hit me in the head… and I was tied to this chair, and…" He trailed off, falling silent for a few minutes. Kate waited.

Castle took another gulp of coffee. "He hated me. He hated me so much, and I don't even know why."

"He's messed up, Castle. That's why."

"Well, yeah. But… he knew me. He said he had seen me every day. Every day. And yet I still didn't recognize him. What does that make me?"

Kate took in a long breath. The killer's words had really gotten to Castle – she could see it in his eyes, in the lines of his face. She reached out, grabbing his hands with hers. "Castle, you are the most compassionate, genuine person I know. The fact that you don't recognize this one man doesn't make you a terrible person. The fact that he would abduct you because of it? That makes him the awful, awful person."

He blinked. "I just… I feel so… I just want to understand why."

That's all Kate wanted, too. That and to put the whole ordeal behind them, to move on and be happy. "Did he tell you why?"

Castle looked up. "He said it was revenge, of sorts. To teach me a lesson. To force me to notice him."

"In other words, he's crazy." She squeezed his hand. "We already knew that."

"Yeah." He was silent for a long moment, stroking his thumb up and down Kate's hand. "But all of those people… they died just so I would notice this man. It's my fault they're dead."

Kate moved closer to him, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "Castle, listen to me. This is not your fault. None of this your fault. The deaths of those people had nothing to do with you. They died at the hands of the Checkmate Killer. And even if you weren't around, he would still be killing. He would just have a different reason."

Castle squeezed his eyes shut. "I know that. It's just… it's so hard."

Kate moved to wrap her arms around Castle, pulling him close. "I know it is. But we're going to make it, Castle. Together."