A/N Just a short chapter today, the next chapter will be longer and up very soon! Thanks for reading!
Beckett woke up feeling warm and comfortable. That's odd, she thought. Opening her eyes, she realised why she felt so secure; she was curled around Castle, with her head resting on his broad chest. If she hadn't been sitting on the floor of a quarantine zone in the middle of a biological terrorist attack, she would have felt more content than she had in a long time.
She lifted her head from his chest and saw he was asleep. He had his head resting against on the transparent wall behind him; it looked uncomfortable. Beckett's muscles ached, her head was throbbing, she was tired and scared. She felt childish for thinking it, but all she wanted was for Castle to wake up, hold her close and say something supportive.
"Castle," she whispered. He didn't stir. "Hey, Castle," she said again. Still nothing. "Castle," she said, firmly this time, shaking his shoulders. He didn't wake.
"I need help here!" she shouted, suddenly panicking. She clambered off him as three medics hurried over and lifted him on to the bed next to Ryan. Esposito stood up to watch the scene unfolding before him, still holding on to Ryan's forearm. Being lifted and the noise around Castle was enough to rouse him. He opened his eyes a little and saw Beckett standing beside him.
"He's going in to respiratory failure," one of the medics muttered. They started bustling around him, preparing drugs and machinery to keep him alive.
"Hey," she whispered. He didn't reply, it didn't seem like he was able to. He was taking long, rasping breaths as though he couldn't get enough air in to his lungs. He managed to give her a weak smile and lifted his hand. She took a hold of his hand and squeezed it. His forehead was shining with sweat and his face was ashen. She pushed his hair off his forehead, letting her hand rest for a moment on the side of his face.
"You're going to be okay, Castle," she said, giving him a reassuring smile. A little less surely she said, "you have to be okay." Castle just watched her, his breathing becoming more laboured by the minute. She looked at him lying there and tears started to flow down her cheeks. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage almost painfully. If this was the last time she was going to see him, there was something she had to say.
"I love you, Castle."
He didn't reply, he just squeezed her hand a little tighter. He held her gaze steadily for a few more seconds before his blue eyes closed and his hand fell limp from her grasp.