Sorry for the delay in updating, i meant to post this chapter last night but my laptop had a spaz attack! But here goes, i tried to show a bit of both PoV's while also trying to come up with ways of starting and ending chapters with "Always" which is becoming more and more difficult. My interpretation of the characters, so if it is very unlike them i apologise, this is how i would like them to react in my mind:)

I dont own castle.

"Always"

He was grinning like a lunatic. She said "Always!" Had he not been stuck in bed with an honest to god hole in his heart, he would have danced around and jumped for joy. This had been the best day of his life.

Yes there was the small 'almost dying' thing that had put a dampener on things for a while there, but after the storm had come the rainbow, his partner and love of his life had finally admitted her feelings, both to him and to herself. Not only had she said she loved him, but she had told him always, their own personal promise, she would always love him, always be there for him, and always come back, and in return, he would always do the same.

He glanced over at the clock beside his bed, it was ten pm. He closed his eyes and settled down to sleep, taking comfort in the fact that in nine and a half hours he would be seeing her again.

"Always"

It was the second time she had made that promise in the last two days and it was making her think. When she had been with her previous flings, Demming, Josh, even Will, she had never really wanted to commit to them. Always waiting for some excuse to bolt when things started getting serious. And now, she had committed herself fully to her partner, to his family, without even being in a relationship!

She kept waiting for that feeling, that knot in the pit of her stomach that always stopped her dead in her tracks, preventing her from moving forward. She kept waiting for it to hit but it never did.

She smiled to herself. It was different this time, she could tell that this time, there would be no backing out, there would be no reason to, she smiled because she had finally found him, her one and done, and he came in the form of a ruggedly-handsome man child with gorgeous blue eyes. Whether it worked out or not, she knew he would be the first and last man she ever loved.

She had reached her apartment by the time this realization hit her and she found herself fumbling with the key in the lock, her face pulled into the biggest smile possible, her heart racing, and a sort of love struck aura about her.

She finally stumbled through the door, shutting and locking it behind her. A laugh bubbled up her throat, escaping her lips and making her jump slightly, her fingers to her mouth as if not believing the sound had really come from her.

She was in love; there was no other explanation.

She showered and changed into her pyjamas, baggy pants and a very large shirt. Checking the time on her father's watch as she removed it, along with her necklace and her mothers ring, placing them in the box on her dresser, it was just before eleven, she only had eight and a half more hours to wait!

She hopped into bed, switching off her bedside light, still unable to wipe the smile off her face. She closed her eyes and sighed, Richard Castle, my one and done, her smile grew as she let the words roll around in her head; she definitely liked the sound of that.

Her breathing evened out and she finally fell asleep, her smile remained plastered on her face as she drifted off.

Kate was woken by a loud beeping, rolling over she reached out for where she knew her phone would be, briefly glancing at the time, it was six thirty, she still had an hour to get ready and get to the hospital like she had promised.

She never usually checked the caller id, whether she knew who it was or not she always answered with the same

"Beckett!"

"Kate!"

The voice on the other end of the line made her blood run cold. It was Alexis. After their last conversation, she knew she was definitely not the teen's favourite person at the moment, and their was a panicky edge to the girls voice that made Kate break into a cold sweat.

"Kate! There was – he was – it hurt! They gave him morphine – bad reaction – he's freaking out please come now!"

She was stumbling over her words, trying to get the message across to the detective but too panicked to form proper sentences.

After hearing her name the first time, Kate had leapt out of bed, just barely listening to the rest of the explanation, he had been in pain, they had given him morphine, he had had a bad reaction to the drug, and Alexis had called her.

She shouted something about being on her way, but she was already half way across the room, clothes flying everywhere as she rushed to change as fast as possible.

She found a clean pair of jeans on a shelf in her cupboard, pulling them on while trying to keep her balance, she fumbled around looking for a clean shirt, the room was still dark and she couldn't see a thing, she was on her hands and knees, her fingers finally touched on one and she pulled it over her head. Her hair must look dreadful but she couldn't care less.

She grabbed her phone off the bed and rushed to get her watch, necklace and mothers ring out of their box, retrieving her gun on her way out of the room out of force of habit.

Her heels were by the door, as was her coat and her car keys. She ran through her living room, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she ran past it. She paused and turned back and stared at her reflection, a horrified look on her face.

In her haste she had accidentally grabbed yesterdays shirt off the floor, complete with his blood-stain over her left breast. She didn't have time to change, Alexis had said 'come now' not 'come in a couple of hours' she continued on to the door, grabbing her sweater off the couch as she passed it, very grateful she had not had time to clean up this week.

She put the sirens on as she raced down the road, wanting to get to him as fast as possible, not caring about the trouble she would be in for using the sirens in a non-emergency. To her this was an emergency, as she sped down the street.

She reached the hospital in record time, pulling her sweater over her head to hide the blood on her shirt as she ran down the corridor towards his room.

She burst through the door, eyes seeking him out; she saw Alexis and Martha huddled on the couch, the younger red head hiding her face in the neck of the older one. Martha's eyes were trained on the far corner of the room, furthest from the door and opposite the window. She followed the older woman's eyes and gasped.

Richard Castle stood in the corner of the room, eyes wide and fearful. He was slumped to one side, leaning heavily on the wall to his left, his right hand pressing down on his wounded heart.

Two nurses were standing close by, trying to coax him back into bed, he was recovering from major surgery and he shouldn't be up and around just yet.

At hearing her gasp, his eyes zeroed in on her, staring at her in a slightly deranged way, his face paling, blending in with the whitewashed walls.

"Kate?" His voice cracked, he sounded surprised to see her.

"Rick I'm here, its ok, I'm here!" She was trying to reassure him, she wasn't sure what was going on in his mind but she wanted to help.

"You were shot. I saw you. I couldn't stop it and you fell." He wasn't talking to anyone in particular, he seemed to be trying to convince himself that that this had happened.

She brought her own hand up to cover her heart, making sure the blood was being covered by her sweater, she knew he would think it was her own blood and probably panic more.

"I was Rick, but that was a long time ago, I'm fine now, we both are, I'm here and I'm ok, you're gonna be ok too." She edged closer to him, reaching out her hand, willing him to take it, feel her warmth, understand that she was still alive, that she was his now.

He looked at her hand, not quite sure what to make of it.

"You're not dead." He stated, looking up to meet her eyes.

"No Rick, I'm not, and neither are you, lets get you back into bed." She was reassuring him she was alive, while also reassuring herself that he was too.

He reached for her outstretched hand and held it tightly, his eyes widening at the contact. She started walking backwards, towards his bed, bringing him with her.

No one said a word as he slowly climbed back into bed, wincing slightly as his left arm took his weight.

When he was comfortably in the bed, he patted the spot next to him, wanting her to climb on.

Kate looked to Alexis and Martha, who where watching them with interested eyes. Kate was asking their permission to lie next to their father and son, not wanting to step on any toes.

Both women nodded at the detective encouragingly, neither of them had managed to convince the writer to get back into bed and they wanted him to stay there now, if it meant she lay with him, they were fine with that.

Sighing, Kate shed her heels and her coat, being careful to keep the sweater on and covering her shirt, she did not want to set him off again. She climbed into bed with him, snuggling closer while being mindful of his injuries.

He put his nose to the top of her head and inhaled deeply, the smell of cherries calming him and relaxing his muscles. He hugged her closer, as close as was possible without hurting himself.

"Thank you for coming back to me." He said, his voice slightly breathless.

She was not sure whether he meant thank you for not dying or thank you for coming back like she had promised the day before.

Either way her answer was the same.

"Always Castle… Always."

Please please PLEASE review! i think the next chapter will be the conclusion as i go back to school on monday and will have no time to write! thank you for all previous reviews, alerts and favourites! Really means alot!:) Please review this chapter and let me know if you have anything you would like to see in the final chapter (or chapters if i have time) Thank you!:)