Prompt: I forgot what episode it was, but that time Castle had Alexis duct tape him to the chair, for research. What if Kate comes searching for him because he didn't answer his phone and when she finds him tied up she fears the worse and after untying him, she kisses him, effectively confessing her growing feelings for him.

Prompt found from anon on Castle Fanfic Prompts Blog.


He wasn't answering his phone. At first it hadn't been a big deal, he could have been in the shower or he could have been writing; she knows he uses noise cancelling ear plugs from time to time if he is on a writing streak and doesn't want to be disturbed. However she keeps trying him, after the third try she calls Martha to see if she has any idea what he could be up to that is keeping him from picking up, but she doesn't pick up either. She doesn't want to panic, she probably just isn't near her phone and with her acting classes it's not an unlikely theory. So she tries Alexis and when she doesn't answer the panic really begins to set it. Her mind starts to race, wondering why she can't get hold of anyone in the Castle household. Something could have happened to them her irrational mind convinces her, they are a wealthy family and Castle is well known, they could all be being held for ransom or something even worse could have happened.

She decides enough is enough, telling Ryan and Esposito that she thinks something is wrong and is going to check on Castle, sure they make a joke about it, but she doesn't find it funny. She needs to know that he is ok.

The elevator to his loft takes too long and she wishes now that she had taken the stairs. When the doors finally open she rushes to his apartment door before her training kicks in. If he isn't alone in there, if someone really had broken in then she needed to be quiet and not alert them to her presence, but then again if he is hurt she needs to get in there as quick as possible.

She doesn't have time to make a decision as she hears what can only be described as a grunt and a thud that sounded as if someone had just gone crashing down onto the floor. That was all it took for her to slam into the door, twice she tried without succeeding before she attempted to kick the door which eventually swung open slamming against the inside wall of the loft.

Her gun raised she entered the apartment to see Castle, bound and gagged to a chair that had toppled onto its side. His eyes looked wild as he looked up at her, she quickly surveyed the apartment making sure that it was clear before rushing to untie him.

"Castle, oh my god are you OK? Are you hurt? Who did this to you?"

The questions came short and fast as she holstered her gun and began to peel the tape from his mouth, wincing as he yelped in pain as the sudden sting that took over his face.

"I'm sorry. Just stay there I'll get some scissors and get this off you"

"Beckett…" he tried to explain, but his mouth was drier than he expected.

Before he knew what was happened Beckett had returned and was cutting the tape from his wrists and ankles. He propped himself up, finally able to regain his balance again after the disaster that was his attempt escape from the chair.

His mind still hadn't caught up with him yet, he was still reeling from the fact that Kate Beckett had just knocked down his apartment door and rushed to his rescue. But before he knew what was happening her lips were upon his. They were soft and tasted of cherry lip balm but there was a deep passion behind them. At first he was too stunned to do anything, wondering if he had somehow managed to knock himself out when the chair toppled over and this was him living out what he had been dreaming about. He felt her pull back from the kiss, her hands keeping a secure grip on his forearms.

"Thank god you're ok, I was so worried that something had happened to you. You are OK aren't you? You're not hurt right?" she asked, her voice desperate and soft and so unlike any other time she had spoken to him.

He couldn't find the words, they seemed to stick in his throat so he simply nodded his head, thinking of how stupid and how much like a thirteen year old having their first real kiss must have felt.

"When you didn't answer your phone, and Martha and Alexis didn't answer theirs I got so scared I didn't know what to think. What happened did someone break in? Did they hurt you?" She asked, once again far too quickly for him to comprehend the full extent of what she was asking him.

"Research" he choked out, "I was doing it for research purposes, I'm fine, I asked Alexis to do this" he explained and he watched her expression change.

"What do you mean? You're telling me that you asked Alexis to tie you up?"

"Yes" he laughed "and if I knew you were going to come to my rescue like that I would have had her do it sooner"

It was meant as a joke but he can tell she isn't finding it funny.

She stands up ready to leave, feeling like a fool. What had she been thinking, presuming the worsts, jumping to conclusions, breaking into his apartment all because he wasn't answering his phone and then kissing him! She felt like an idiot, she needed to leave, after all she did have a case to solve.

"Beckett wait" Castle said, scrambling to his feet as she stood up to leave.

She wasn't listening, she turned and made her way to the door, trying to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"Kate wait please" his voice sounded broken, like he had realised exactly what he had done.

"Its fine Castle I'll catch up with you later" she said over her shoulder, wishing that he would just let her leave in peace.

"Kate you kissed me" he blurted out and it stopped her in her tracks.

"Kate?"

She sighed, she should have known better than to think she could get away with this without him wanting an explanation. She turned back to face him, expecting to see him trying to contain his excitement that she had just kissed him and ready to make some smart sarcastic comment. But there was none, he was serious, probably the most serious she had ever seen him.

"I'm sorry Castle. I shouldn't have kissed you"

"But you did?" he said, measuring each word out as if he was still coming to term with the fact that Kate Beckett had just kissed him, and it hadn't been a peck on the cheek it had been a full blown 'thank god you're alive' kiss, filled with passion and desperation to know that he was genuinely ok.

"I know" she mumbled.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked cautiously.

"There isn't much else to say. I guess I was just scared that I had lost you. I thought that something terrible had happened to you, you weren't answering your phone and then you were tied up but then I saw you and saw that you were OK and I just, well I don't know what came over me. I guess it's because we've been partners for a while now and I do care for you Castle. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with and I don't always let on what I'm feeling, but you have been there for me and I do care about you Castle. I care about you more than you realise. I was just scared that I was going to lose you. I've got so use to you being there, for having my back and when I thought that I might have lost you it just, I…"

Kate stopped herself, Castle wasn't responding and she clearly thought that this was the biggest mistake she had ever made and was sure he would tease her about it for years to come; if he even continued to shadow her after this.

"Anyway you're fine so I will just…"

He kissed her. Stopping her in her tracks before she could finish that sentence. He wasn't going to let her leave, not after what she had just told him. She cared for him, and not just in the way that she had to because they worked together, it was more than that. She had just admitted she had feelings for him and he knew that for her that was a big deal.

He felt her hand reach up to cup his face and pull him into her, their kiss turning more intense by the second. It could have led to more, he wanted it to, with every fibre of his being he wanted to show her just how much he wanted her and how he felt exactly the same. But instead he stopped and gently pulled them apart. He wasn't going to ruin this, he wasn't going to rush into something that they might regret later. Holding her close he leaned back slightly to look into her eyes.

"How about I make us a coffee and we can talk?" he suggested and he hoped she understood that he wanted everything to be perfect.

"That sounds good to me" she replied, relief washing over her.

Neither of them knew what this meant for them, for their relationship, but one thing was for sure, they were each certain that they wanted to find out.