Summary: An alternate scene in Kill Shot

A/N: So this has become a multi-chapter story. Sort of a series of new endings and inserts for most of the episodes through Always. I may end up and do all of the eps, but haven't made that decision yet. Hope you enjoy!


Castle was in his kitchen, searching through the refrigerator and freezer, trying to find something to eat. His mind wouldn't stop thinking about Kate, and how this sniper case was putting her into a free fall. It was difficult to think about anything else, much less food, and his appetite was almost non-existent.

There was a sound at the door - not quite a knock, but definitely one signifying a person was on the other side.

He checked the time. It was late, Alexis was at a friend's house and his mother was out on the town. When he heard it again, he walked quickly to the door, his heart beginning to race and his mind buzzing with concern.

When he opened the door, Kate was leaning heavily against the door jamb. Her hair was a mess, her eyes unfocused, and her arms were crossed over her chest. "Cas-"

He briefly saw the bloodstains on her shirt before she stumbled into him. "Kate - you're bleeding," he said, stating the obvious. He took her gently into his arms and pushed down the panic that threatened to swallow him whole. He had gone this route once - he wasn't sure if he could do it again.

Carefully, Castle helped her to the couch and let her lay down. "Let me see what happened," he said as he knelt by her side, not sure how he managed to sound so calm.

She let him take her right arm and look it over. There didn't seem to be an injury there or to her chest, and he let out the lungful of air he didn't realize he was holding. When he reached for her left, she pulled away slightly, her eyes full of tears.

"I can't do it, Castle," said Kate, "I thought I was strong, thought I could do this." Her words were slurred, sounded so final and ended on a sob. "I'm weak."

When she reached for him, he took her hand, his heart breaking for her. "Even the strongest person break sometimes," he said, "It doesn't make us weak, it just means we're human."

Tears fell from her eyes as she turned her arm for him to see. The cut didn't look deep enough to require medical attention, and he needed to do something even though he was hesitant to leave her side. "I've got to get a bandage for your arm," he said as he got to his feet, "I'll be right back, Kate. Stay here, and stay still. Okay?"

She nodded as more tears streaked silently down her cheeks.

Castle's mind was reeling with memories of her blood soaking the cemetery lawn as he dug through his medicine cabinet. The small door gave a high-pitched squeak as he closed it, reminding him of when she flat lined. He rushed back to Kate, fumbling quite a bit with his hands full of gauze, tape, and ointment.

As he rounded the couch, he found her asleep, snoring lightly.

He sighed as he knelt by her side again, relief washing over him in waves with the rise and fall of her chest. He was glad she trusted him enough to come here in her time of need and he briefly wondered what happened, how she got cut. What he knew was that this case was taxing on her and she wouldn't admit it. Even with this new openness between them, she had suddenly closed up and pushed him away.

It didn't take a genius to see she had decided drinking it away was the answer. Perhaps it was clumsiness due to the alcohol, some kind of accident or a fall that did it.

There was a story, but it would have to wait. He needed to quit analyzing and help her. Castle slowly pulled her left arm toward him and went about cleaning the wound and bandaging it. He wished he could do something about the blood on her shirt, but he didn't want to wake her and there was no way he would undress her without permission, even if they had been slowly growing closer.

Kate shifted and curled up on her side when he was finished with her arm, so he covered her with a blanket. He tucked her in and she mumbled something, so he stopped and listened. It was all broken words and nonsense.

There was a small waste basket at the end of the couch that he moved closer to her, then brought aspirin and a bottle of water from the kitchen and set them on the coffee table. Hopefully, not all of it would be needed, but it was there, just in case.

Castle took his laptop from his office and sat on the other chair so he would be there the moment she woke up. As he opened the document and began to type, she mumbled again. Curiosity made him stop what he was doing and listen.

Kate sighed heavily and rolled over.

"'Love you, Castle."

Her quiet words rang clearly to him, filling his heart to the point he wanted to burst. He almost couldn't believe he understood her correctly. "I love you, too, Kate," he softly answered, barely keeping himself from yelling it to the world.

"I know."

Castle gazed at her, his heart pounding, the sound of blood rushing in his ears as he realized - or thought he realized - what she said. Kate shifted a little more, seeming to snuggle deeper into the blanket, and he watched her closed eyes. She was still asleep.

He wasn't sure if this was something he should bring up later, but he already knew, even if she hadn't said the words. Those three, heart-lifting, life-changing words.

Of course, if she asked, he wouldn't lie, but in the meantime, he would hold on to those words, treasure them, until the day she felt ready to say them again.