Prompt from pamelalexandria here on fanfiction: In the freezer, Castle takes off his clothes to put on Kate when she looses consciousness and ends up hospitalized (she wakes up before him) and Kate realizes she can't live without him and tells him so when he finally wakes up (no Josh).
Her eyelids feel heavier than they usually do as she forces them open, the sound of...Ryan's voice bringing her back out of obliviousness.
What happened?
"Beckett? Beckett, are you okay?" he asks, his voice soft and soothing and making her open her eyes completely, landing on the pair of pale blue ones looking back at her. His eyes are filled with worry.
What happened?
She forces one corner of her lips to turn upwards and nods slowly, her mind awakening just as slowly, her body becoming aware of it's surroundings.
The first thing she fully processes is that she's cold, really cold, and shivering violently, a heavy blanket draped over her. And then she looks around a bit, scans her surroundings and realizes she's in the back of an ambulance, and it's night time.
What happened?
"Beckett? Are you okay? You're still cold. Do you want another blanket?" he asks, reaching behind him to grab another thick, wool blanket. As he turns, her eyes land on a jacket and pair of pants and a button down shirt, a man's jacket and button down shirt and pair of pants.
And just like that, it all comes back to her—the freezer, always, her almost-confession of love, the world going black.
"Where's Castle?" she asks, hearing the desperation in her own voice.
Ryan turns back to her, drapes the heavy blanket over her shaking body and runs his hand down her arm in a friendly and comforting motion.
"They're bringing him to the hospital. Because you're smaller, the cold got to you sooner. He took off his clothes to help warm you up, and ended up getting much worse hypothermia himself," he says softly, keeping his voice carefully steady even as she shoots up into a sitting position, the blankets that had been covering her chest falling into a pile on her lap.
"Is he...will he be okay?" she asks, reaching out to grip his arm as her head starts spinning.
"Take it easy, Beckett. You have hypothermia, too," says Ryan, resting his own hand on her arm to steady her as well. "Castle's going to be okay, okay? Now you need to rest and warm up."
"No!" she practically shouts, catching the paramedic's attention. The woman, dressed in her FDNY uniform, turns and walks over to them. Kate ignores her. "No, Ryan. I need to see him, please? I can warm up in the car and there. I just...I need to see him, please, Ryan. Please?" She knows she's practically begging, but if all she needs is to warm up, she can wrap herself in blankets while Ryan drives.
She doesn't care, she just needs to see him, needs to make sure he's okay, needs to thank him for risking his life to save hers and she needs to tell him...she loves him.
"Beckett, stay calm. I'll ask the paramedic if we can go, okay?" he asks. She nods in response, hoping and praying that he'll get permission to take her to see her partner.
She's never needed to see anyone more than she needs to see Castle right now.
Ryan returns and simply nods his head. He helps her to her feet, despite her protests and leads her to his car, telling her in no uncertain terms that she is to sit down and relax, wrapped in blankets, and only get up to go from the car to Castle's room.
Under normal circumstances, she's argue, and they both know it. Right now, though, she'll follow whatever rules Ryan wants to make up if it means getting a ride to the hospital so she can see him.
She finds fatigue once again taking over her on the drive back, falls asleep only to be woken by a still worried Ryan parking outside the hospital. She doesn't give him time to worry any more, pushes the car door open quickly, slams it shut behind her and practically runs into the hospital.
With a few quick questions and a flash of his badge, Ryan manages to get her into Castle's room in record time. Even though she's the one who still has hypothermia, she finds that the nurse is walking far too slowly.
Finally, they reach his room. He's still unconscious, an IV in his right arm, dressed in a hospital gown. She practically stumbles in, tripping over her own feet, struggling to keep the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She can feel Ryan's worried gaze on her back as he lingers at the door, as if making sure she's okay. When she finally gets to the chair at Castle's bedside, she turns to her fellow detective and nods, allowing him to leave.
Knowing how considerate Ryan is, she knows he won't go far—not that she even really cares, she really just wants Castle to wake up.
Right now, she just wants to finally tell him what she came so close to telling him in that freezer.
He's still asleep, but she decides to tell him anyway, hoping he hears her. She reaches over and takes his hand in his, feels how cold it is runs her thumb quickly along the back of it in attempt to warm him even the slightest bit.
"I heard you tried to save me. It worked, obviously," she chuckles softly, hearing the wetness in her own laugh, the tears already welling in her eyes. "Now you have to wake up, okay, Rick? 'Cause you need to know what I was going to tell you. But I can't wait until you wake up...I need to tell you before I lose my nerve, okay? So you, you remember this. I love you, Rick," she says softly, the tears running down her cheeks as she lets her head fall to the side of his bed, her lips pressing to his still cold hand. "I love you. And you need to wake up so we can talk about this and maybe...be more than partners?"
She presses her lips to his hand once again, squeezing his limp fingers with her own.
She starts crying more when she feels the weak squeeze coming from him a minute or two later—even though it feels like it's been forever since she woke up in that ambulance.
She presses another kiss to his hand before looking up at him, meeting hooded blue eyes with tearful green ones. She's not sure what she would've done had she never been able to see those eyes again.
"You're awake. Oh, God...don't you ever do that to me again," she cries, standing up to lean in closer to him. She can't stop herself from pressing a kiss to his forehead.
"You're okay," he says, instead of responding to her statement. "I thought you were going to die."
"I know... I thought you were going to die, too," she whispers, leaning her head to set it in the crook of his neck, not caring that her tears are seeping into the thin cotton of his hospital gown. "I...I thought I was going to lose you, Rick. Don't you ever do that again...even to save me."
He reaches up to wrap his arms around her, making the blanket fall to his abdomen. It's okay, though. Even though he's cold, the blanket around her is warming in up, along with the feeling of her practically leaning over him.
"So worth it, Kate," he whispers, making her send him a questioning glance. From what she could tell, hypothermia isn't worth much. She's not exactly a fan of the shivering, the numbness that is only beginning to fade—she's pretty sure that's only because of him—and the cold that feels like it will never go away. And he obviously has it worse than she does, since he's the one laying in the hospital bed with an IV in his arm.
"I'm alive. You're alive, Kate." His words are soft and sincere his hand not-attached to an IV reaching up to run over her cheek, his fingers bringing her comfort only he ever can. And suddenly, his sweet, loving smile turns more smug, yet keeping a loving hint to it. "And you love me."
She can't help it, doesn't give herself time to think about it or about any possible consequences, and leans down to kiss him hard.
She loves him.
Based on the smile on his face, he loves her, too.
With the touch of their lips—finally—an indescribable, unbelievable warmth spreads through her entire body, much like that time in the alley. But this kiss is real, purely them, all their feelings finally being released in the intimate, perfect touch of his lips against hers. As his tongue slips into her mouth, battling with her own, a moan very similar to the one from the alley, escapes her throat as she leans further over him.
And the machine at his bedside beeps, announcing a raise in his heartbeat. They pull apart like they were burned, a blush rising to her cheeks instantly as a nurse comes in to check on him. He chuckles softly as he reaches over to takes her hand in his.
They keep each other warm that night—thanks to a flash of her badge and a generous donation that allow her to stay—as they lay wrapped in each other's arms, blankets draped over them in countless layers.
"I love you, too," he whispers to her right before she falls asleep that night, making warmth spread through her veins and to every nerve ending. She manages a simple nod against his chest, fails to do much more, since she's so tired.
He doesn't seem to care, though. He pulls her closer, holding her against him as slumber takes over her.
She never thought she'd be so thankful for a freezer, a near-death experience and a case of hypothermia. But they all led her here, to his warm arms, his soft lips...his love.
She wouldn't have it any other way.