And finally the next chapter :D

Since many of you addressed it in their reviews, I just wanted to make it clear that Rick is a writer in this story, too. That's the reason why he and his family are living at the loft we all know and love. I'm sorry that I haven't made this clear in the beginning, only dropping a hint or two. It just hadn't been a vital part of the story yet, but the topic will come up soon enough. We all know that Kate is a fan of the author's work :). There will be fun with that, as well as Rick towing the line between telling her and keeping her in the dark for now. Can't go around telling just anyone that he's a bestselling author…

But then again, it isn't as big of his life as it is on the show. He's going by Rodgers, living a normal life (as normal as you can while living in a loft like this and having a lot of money at his deposal :D) and loves his work at the fire department. He uses the pen name Richard Castle for his books, but no one knows he's the writer. Only his family and his closest friends know.

On another note, a guest reviewer commented that since Rick hasn't written the Nikki Heat novels, Dunn wouldn't have had this fixation on Kate. That would be right. I'm merely using the fact that there are a lot of crazy people out there, always finding a reason to run havoc and making the life harder for anyone. Kate's a great detective, and certainly made some enemies during her line of work. It'd just take one insane guy seeing her at a crime scene to form an obsession…

So, I won't keep you from reading any longer :)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

Chapter 11

Rick fell hard onto his back, groaning painfully as his oxygen bottle dug into his back. Something crashed onto his left thigh, pinning him to the ground. His head hurt like hell and he needed a few seconds to re-focus. He noticed that his mask had survived the fall almost without a scratch, but his helmet was missing. Glancing around, Rick guessed that they fell from the 3rd down onto the 2nd level.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Dan lying next to him, moving slightly and letting out noises of pain himself. They'd surely be sore for the next few days. "Dan, you're okay?"

"Yeah. Just let me recover my breath." Dan gasped. "I'm pretty sure that fall was hell on my ribs."

"Yeah, mine too. Listen, I'm stuck. Could you move it so that I can get up?"

Dan rolled onto his side and re-adjusted his helmet so that he could see more clearly. It seemed like a lot of rubbish landed on Rick, a big part of the ceiling pressed it onto his friend. It shouldn't be too difficult to heave it away, though Rick couldn't reach it from his position to move it away himself. "Shouldn't be a problem."

The firefighter moved to get up, but Rick had to watch in horror as the floor suddenly collapsed again, threatening to take his friend with it. Moving quickly, Rick shot out his right arm towards Dan, barely able to grab his right arm and holding onto him. His shoulder started to burn, his position not quite good enough to help his friend up again. Because of the pile of rubbish which still kept him pinned down, Rick couldn't turn around to use his other hand to pull Dan up. On the other hand, that pile was probably the only thing that kept them both from falling.

"Damn it!" Rick growled. There was no chance in hell he'd be able to heave the man up while being stuck in this unfortunate position. Reaching up, Rick tried to push the biggest part off of him, but he couldn't quite make it. His other arm hurt more and more due being twisted at this angle, but he wouldn't let go. No way in hell!

"Rick!" Dan shouted panicked.

"Yeah, I'm working on it! Just keep holding on!"

Changing tactics Rick pulled at the little pieces underneath the big part that kept everything pressed on him. Fortunately he was able to lower the pile at a height he could reach, but due the sudden loss of buffer between him and the piece of ceiling it fell hard onto him. Ignoring the pain he grasped it at the front side, pushing it lengthwise off his thigh. It moved slowly, but at least it was moving. His energy levels were slowly draining out, only the adrenaline kept him going. Another part of the ceiling dropped down, landing just a few feet next to his head. "Come on, not like this!" Rick groaned and pushed one last time hard against the piece he was moving off of his leg.

Turning quickly around he moved his other arm towards his friend, taking a hold on Dan's arm. Though, without the weight of the rubbish holding him in place Rick felt how he slowly but surely lost hold, the weight of Dan pulling him steadily towards the edge.

Just as he was about to lose the tug of war against gravity, he felt something on his legs and on his back, pulling them back up again.

"We've got you, Lieutenant." He heard the voice of Mike calling out to him. A quick glance back confirmed that his men had finally found them and were ready to help them and evacuate the building.

Rick kept a firm hold on Dan until he was completely up again, and only then did he let go. He rolled his right arm slightly, but it was obvious that he must've strained something. Mike helped him up while José helped Dan.

"Captain, we recovered Rodgers and Spencer. Evacuating now." Mike radioed through their communication.

Fortunately the rest of their way out of the building passed off smoothly. Once outside Rick tore away his mask, happy to see clearly again. The smoke had made it difficult to see something, but after his fall there had been a crack in the plastic disc, making it even harder to see.

Sam and Adam were already waiting for them as they exited the building. As soon as their colleagues were sure that their lieutenant and Dan were in good hands, they started to work on extinguishing the fire.

"Where are you two hurt?" Sam asked as she and Adam led them back to the ambulance. Rick noticed casually that the number of people standing behind the barrier had increased since they had entered the building.

"I'm fine." Dan protested.

Sam snorted annoyed by Dan's downplay, obviously not buying his statement. "You're hobbling. That's not exactly my definition of I'm fine."

Dan took a seat inside the ambulance with a huff, yet it was evident that he felt relieved to put his weight off of his foot. He closed his eyes and leant his head back against the wall.

Meanwhile Rick and Sam worked on getting Rick out of his gear, so that Sam could start looking for any injuries. Finally free of his coat Rick carefully pulled up his shirt, exposing a huge bruise that was spread over his back.

"Damn, man. That'll hurt." Dan commented, watching him with half closed eyes.

Rick sighed. "You don't say."

Adam appeared back by the ambulance, having gone to search for the captain to ask if they should stay a little longer or if they could drive the two firefighters to the hospital. "We're clear to get them to the hospital."

"Okay." Sam replied, putting away their equipment while Adam closed the doors and made his way to the front of the ambulance, driving them over to the hospital.

Dan had closed his eyes again, sitting still during the drive and move only now and then. After a few seconds into the drive Rick followed his example, and only the throbbing of his head kept him from falling asleep. Once and then Sam asked them something, but their answers were always kept short.

Rick couldn't wait for this day to be over.

Sitting on the examination table in the emergency room at the hospital waiting for the doctor to finalize some paperwork and looking over the test results, Rick remembered why he hated it to be brought here if something happened during his shift. It was loud and hectic, and so boring.

Though it always gave one enough time for themselves, thinking over a few things without being interrupted. After having mentally gone through their movements throughout the burning building again and again thinking of ways they could have avoided their incident, his thoughts landed on Kate Beckett.

It had been two weeks since they had lunch at the precinct. He hadn't heard from her since then. Since she was a busy homicide detective, he hadn't been worried about the lack of contact. He knew all too well how busy the job could get, so he had waited a little longer.

But he had waited long enough, he decided at this moment. He'd call her after he'd get back to the firehouse. He'd been reminded again how awfully short life could be, the end could come at any second without notice. If you were ready for it or now. Death didn't care about that, didn't care if one had still a few unfinished businesses and death certainly didn't wait for one to finish them. And one thing was for sure, Rick didn't want to die with regrets. And he would've definitely regretted not having had enough time with Kate - just because he was too stubborn to call her himself - if he'd died today.

Maybe she didn't call because she thought he wasn't interested.

Whatever the reason was, he didn't care. He'd call her and ask if she'd like to go out on a date with him. Just like that, straight forward. No talking between lines, making each of them insecure about their intentions. And if she wasn't interested, well… he was an adult. He could take it.

"Alright, Lieutenant Rodgers. You're allowed to leave now. Remember to see a doctor if your headache should get worse." The doctor said, bidding him goodbye and moved on to his next patient.

Rick jumped down the table and made his way back to his colleagues whom waited at the reception. Sam was filling out paperwork while Dan and Adam chatted next to her. Dan looked alright, only the crutches in his arms indicated that he was injured.

Adam was the first to notice Rick's arrival. "Hey, how are you?"

"Well… bruised ribs, slight concussion and a sprained shoulder." Rick replied, lifting his right arm, which rested in a sling, carefully for empathizing.

"Oh, boy!" Dan exclaimed, smiling encouraging at his friend. "There's no way the captain will allow you to finish your shift."

"Don't sound so smug, Dan. You won't finish it either." Sam reprimanded him drily, making Rick and Adam smile. "Come on, boys. Let's get back to the 55th."

"Rodgers, Spencer, it's good to see you doing well. What's the verdict?" Captain Harper greeted them as they arrived back at the firehouse.

"Bruised ribs, slight concussion and a sprained shoulder, Sir. Dan has a sprained ankle and cracked ribs." Rick responded.

"Okay. I want you two to go home and rest, and to report back to work as soon as your doctor gives the okay."

"Got it, Captain."

"Take care." Harper said and went back to his office. After talking with the other men of their unit, Rick and Dan retreated back to the locker room to change and get their things. While Dan changed completely into his normal outfit, Rick opted to just change into his normal shoes, not being in the mood to struggle putting on the rest of his clothes with the sling around his arm. He'd change back at home.

"I'm going home, lay down on my couch and lounge in front of the TV until Claire gets home." Dan announced his plans for the rest of the day. It seemed like the best thing for him, seeing that he had a sprained ankle. Though Rick could imagine Dan getting restlessly pretty soon, his rips will probably shooting down the laying-down-part of his plan. However it seemed like Dan hadn't realized it just yet.

Reality will kick his ass soon enough, Rick thought.

After noticing that Rick wasn't about to reply anything, Dan closed his locker and stared directly at Rick. "What about you?"

"I don't know. Alexis' still at school and my mother is working on this new play. I'm probably taking a nap until one of them gets home."

Dan hummed. "You know, Claire should be home in two and a half hours. If you wanna come over…"

"Thanks for the offer, Dan." Rick smiled. He was honored to have him as a friend. He was a good man, and Rick couldn't imagine calling anyone else his best friend. Sure, Dan had flaws and wasn't perfect. He had made mistakes in his life, but so had he. Imperfection was only human. Rick would never judge his friend for his flaws, just like Dan wouldn't judge him for his. "But I just want to go home."

"Sure. But if you should change your mind…"

Rick smiled again. "I know where to go then."

Dan grabbed his bag and swung it around his shoulder before he took his crutches again. "Well then, see you around."

"See you."

Rick stayed behind a little longer. His fury for this arsonist had reached unknown heights today. Of course there was always the possibility that something like their latest accident could happen when they were out on a scene, but if it hadn't been for this crazy guy setting buildings on fire, they wouldn't have been in this building today.

It had been a close call. Rick knew he'd have hold on to Dan as long as he could, but he'd lie if he hadn't been worried that he couldn't keep a firm grip on his friend. That his friend would literally slip through his hands and fall further down.

He groaned as he thought about the comments he'd have to endure when his mother and daughter saw his injuries. They'll be anything but pleased with him, but it wasn't like he wanted that to happen. His two red-heads worried a lot about him, especially his mother. He hated it to fuel their worry any further.

Shaking his head to lose those thoughts, Rick slung his bag over his left shoulder and closed his locker. As he walked out of the room towards the entrance Rick dug out his cell, hit his contacts and dialed.

"Beckett." A female voice answered after the second ring.

"Wow, that sounds quite official." Rick chuckled. He had to admit that it was nice to hear her voice again. "It's Rick."

"Hey." It was clear that she hadn't expected it to be him on the other end. It was the middle of the day after all, she had to be at work at the moment. Maybe he should have called later. However, Rick could've sworn that he heard something in her voice that made him believe that even if this may be a bad time for his call, she was still pleased to hear from him.

Rick smiled and made his way out of the firehouse, walking into the direction of the loft. "Hi. Is this a bad time?"

"No, not really. It's a rather slow day filled with paperwork for once."

"Okay, good." Rick replied relieved. "Listen, I wanted to ask if you would like to have dinner with me some time?" Damn it, the end of his sentence sounded a little too insecure. Where was his confidence he had back at the hospital? "Of course you don't have to. I'd absolutely understand if you didn't want to. You have a busy job, and your free time is probably pretty sacred to you. We-"

"Rick!" Kate cut his rambling of.

"Yeah?"

"I'd love to."

"Yeah?"

A little chuckled. "Yeah."

"Then it's settled. We're having dinner." His heart was jumping up and down in his chest.

"Does Friday sound good to you?" Kate asked.

"Friday is great. I'll pick you up… let's say around seven?"

"Sure, I'll text you my address."

Rick stopped walking, his attention was completely on the woman on the other end of this phone call. At least this day wasn't a complete disaster. "Then I'll see you on Friday."

Friday couldn't come soon enough, he thought as he continued his walk home.

I wasn't so sure about making Rick a little insecure and clumsy in respect of dating a woman/asking Kate out, but I figured that after his bad luck with relationships it would be completely normal to be a little insecure. In this story, Rick was married twice – just like in the show. However, Rick is a writer using a pen name, so he never had to play the part of a playboy. He doesn't have this mask at his disposal. He's Rick Rodgers in this story, not Rick Castle.

Anyway, next chapter is about their date :)

Hope you liked this update. Please review and tell me what you thought about this update.

Have a nice day :D