A/N: In honor of all of you amazing guys who keep adding my story to your favorite or follow story lists, I'm declaring this 'a chapter a day weekend' ;) So, here's today's chapter.

Chapter 25

Maura couldn't stop shaking. The basement they had been locked in was damp and cold, but she suspected that it had more to do with the adrenaline that was coursing through her veins and forcing her body to remain in a state of hypervigilance.

"Here," Castle suddenly said, shrugging out of his jacket and handing it to her.

"Thank you," Maura replied, managing a smile.

While she put the jacket on, she thought that even though it was cold and dark in the basement, she would still prefer to stay here because she was worried about what might happen next. After their kidnappers had shot Dr. Parish, they had forced them into their van, and they had been driving for what had felt like a really long time. When they had finally stopped, they had blindfolded them and frogmarched them down here.

Castle also realized that Maura wasn't just shaking because of the cold, and he felt like he should say something reassuring. "Don't worry, they're not going to kill us. At least… not right now. Probably once they've gotten what they want from us."

Okay, that probably hadn't been his best effort, but he wasn't exactly in high spirits himself. He kept seeing Lanie lying there in that pool of blood, and it killed him not to know whether anyone would find her in time. And the two of them as well, for that matter.

"What if we don't even get that far?" Maura asked.

"What? Are you telling me you don't know how to build a dirty bomb after all?" It had been intended as a joke, but Maura didn't seem to understand it that way.

She had given the issue some serious consideration whenever she had been able to focus enough during the drive. "I'm not sure. I most certainly have never tried it before, but theoretically it's not as difficult as it sounds. The moral issue seems to be more problematic because, obviously, we can't give these men the means to kill innocent people, but if we don't, they're going to kill us…"

Castle watched her in something like awe. This woman was so different from Rizzoli, he suddenly regretted that he hadn't paid more attention to their interactions because their relationship now seemed like a very intriguing mystery to him. But then again, people sometimes thought that of him and Kate, too. God, just thinking about her name made the need to get out of here almost palpable.

"Don't worry, all you have to do is stall them long enough until the others find us. These guys obviously don't know their nitrogen from their potassium cyanide, so all you have to do is look smart, which you do anyway, so there you go."

"What about you?" Maura asked. "They think you're with NCIS and can replace the Navy Yard blueprints for them."

Castle shrugged. "Hey, I'm an author. I can make up the entire Navy Yard from my imagination. By the time they might realize that it's not quite like the original, the others will have found us."

Maura sighed, wishing she could be as optimistic. "I'm not so sure. Jane hates me."

"She doesn't hate you." Castle shook his head. "Believe me. I've had my fair share of complicated relationships. It took me and Beckett four years to get together and we went through a couple of rough patches. We both almost died – more than once –, we stopped speaking to each other, we yelled at each other, but none of that changed anything about how much I cared about her or vice versa. From what I gather, your Detective Rizzoli and my Kate are not all that different. They are broth strong and fierce and very resourceful women, and that's why they just can't stand being afraid. So they compensate by being angry instead."

"That would also explain why Detective Beckett pushed you away instead of telling you about the baby," Maura pointed out.

Castle frowned because he hadn't expected her to spin this. "No, that's different. I had a right to know."

"But you just said that Detective Beckett hates being afraid and pregnancies can be very frightening. There is ample scientific proof that it's not only the body but also the psyche of pregnant women that is strongly affected by the seriousness of such a sudden responsibility."

Castle didn't reply right away. But even though he was still miffed about how Kate had chosen to handle this entire thing, he really didn't need anyone else to tell him that he should just go and talk to her again. All he wanted right now was to see her and Alexis and – yes, he was not too ashamed to admit it – his mother again, but the problem was that he couldn't. Funny how watching one of your friends get shot and being kidnapped could change your perspective on things.

"Well, since you just turned my own words against me, I guess I can't argue with that," he admitted eventually. "You really are crazy smart, you know that?"

Maura sighed, thinking of how much Jane seemed to hate that about her. "Yes, apparently not one of my more endearing traits."

"Hey, if anyone gets annoyed at ingenuity, the real reason is jealousy."

Maura smiled at Castle. "I think you would make an excellent father for that child. And I just read an article that showed that, statistically speaking, there is no proof that children who weren't planned have a higher risk of ending up in broken homes."

Castle frowned. "Um, that's good to know. Thanks." They were both silent for a while, but that made the waiting even harder, so Castle opted to keep the conversation going. "So, have you ever thought about having kids?"

"No, Bass and I are doing just fine," Maura replied, even though the truth was that every now and then she had thought about it – especially when she and Jane had worked on the case of poor pregnant Tracy Keller, who had died and forced Maura to do an emergency c-section. Afterwards, she had felt a certain connection to that poor baby boy she had delivered and had volunteered as a kangaroo mother in the NICU a couple of times. But Maura's life had been way too unstable lately to seriously consider it.

"Who's Bass?" Castle asked, curious.

"Geochelone sulcata, an African spurred tortoise," Maura explained.

"Really? Didn't know you could keep those as pets."

Maura nodded. "They have very strict dietary and temperature requirements, but they make very faithful companions due to their life expectancy. I've had him all my life."

"Huh, fascinating," Castle said, wondering what Kate would say if he brought home a turtle as a 'companion' for the baby.

"But it's not advisable to get a challenging pet when you're expecting your first child," Maura advised.

"Oh, I already have a daughter. She's a freshmen at Columbia," Castle told her, feeling the usual surge of pride as always when he thought and talked about Alexis.

Only now there was a hint of wistfulness there, too, because she felt so far away from him right now. But thinking about her also made him remember the excitement that came with having a baby and how much he had looked forward to meeting, seeing, and holding his baby girl for the first time. He was suddenly very sure that he could look forward to that again, perhaps he already did.

When Castle got aware of the surprised look on Maura's face, he added, "I was married before. Twice, actually. Neither one my finest hour."

"Well, they say the third time's the charm."

"Yeah, wonder what I would have to do to get Kate to marry me, though," Castle mused, even though he seemed to recall that Kate had said something similar at Ryan's wedding.

"Actually, most pregnant women feel the need to provide their baby with a father figure."

"Huh, not exactly why you want someone to accept your proposal. A proposal should be grand, and romantic, and unforgettable, not a matter of necessity."

Maura frowned. "Detective Beckett doesn't seem like a fan of grand gestures to me."

"Nah, you're right," Castle admitted with a shrug, but right now they had bigger problems anyway.

Still, it was a nice distraction from their current dire situation to think about something as hopeful as proposing to Kate.

But his peaceful bubble burst when they heard the door of the basement open.

A/N: Stay tuned for tomorrow's chapter…