The Four C's

While Castle walked into the building where the bomber and the hostages were; he kept repeating one phrase to himself as he had the last thing his wife said to him on his mind.

"Calm, Cool, Collective, Castle…" Castle said to himself.

In one of his ears; Castle had an earwig that directly connected him to Beckett and the entire NYPD outside. On the gear that he was wearing a gps tracker which allowed Beckett and the others to track Castle's every step.

"Remember Castle; you have to come out of there alive with everyone else. You have the kids, me and your mother waiting for you out here; so don't do anything stupid in there." Beckett said over the earwig.

"I'll be safe; Kate."

"You better be, bro. Otherwise the Ferrari is ours." Esposito chimed in.

With that remark; Esposito was on the receiving end of one of Beckett's glares.

"Let me guess; she's giving you the look." Castle commented just as he got to the door that led to the office where things were going on.

Even though he wasn't outside with everyone else; Castle knew his wife quite well and he knew what her triggers were. Joking around about Castle's untimely demise and the change of ownership with his Ferrari happened to be one of those triggers.

"Yeah she's giving him the look." Ryan replied.

"Just for the record; if anything were to happen to him in there, the Ferrari would come to me and the kids before you two got it." Beckett said putting her teammates in their places.

"Calm down you guys; I'm about to go in."

"Okay bro."

"Castle; remember what the code word for your extraction is?" Beckett asked.

"It's apples."

Castle knew that Beckett was smiling on the other end and he took comfort in the fact that in moments like this the two of them were still able to have a moment between them where they were only one privy to the significance behind their moment.

"Hey Kate…" Castle said in the last possible second he had left before things got real.

"Yeah, babe."

"Always…"

Beckett smiled some and tried to hold back the tears.

"Always…" Beckett responded.

Castle could hear the nerves in his wife's voice with that in his mind he took the step that he had to take. Meanwhile on the outside Beckett waited on the edge of all hope just her family did back home.