Disclaimer- Castle is not mine...sigh

A/N: Thanks to Joanna and Janna for reading it over and listening to me whining.

This chapter is slightly different then the others because it starts in Castle's perspective but then halfway through, switches back to Beckett. Hopefully it's not too confusing! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5

Castle slowly focused his sight on Kate. After everything they've been through, her beauty still took his breath away. Even now, when they were trapped in this horrific nightmare; the fact that he was here with her gave him more strength then he should have. His mind was in a haze. The events of the last couple days were broken up in his mind. Flashes of memories and words spoken. Remembering that day when he was elated and in love, on his way to marry his soul mate, when disaster struck. The tux that Alexis helped him pick out was in shambles. Ruined beyond repair. He had worn it for well over a week- does that mean he got his money's worth out of wearing it? Even in his mind, he was trying to make jokes as a defense mechanism. Defending himself against the possibility that this was as far as they go. They'd been running against the odds for so long. Was he a fool to think that they could avoid this worst possible fate?

He was the perpetual optimist- but what if that was all for nothing… Fairy tales don't exist, so why did he think they'd get their happy ending in this corrupted world.

Kate stared down at him with tears streaming down her face and suddenly his belief shot back through him. Because of her. He believed it all because of her. She deserved her happy ending and he would move mountains if he had to, in order to make it happen. The love he felt for this woman and his desire to protect her above all else…this was why.

Castle raised his head slightly trying to clear the mental fog. That fog that mentally blocked him from the specifics and of the events from the last couple days. Tyson tormented him with the idea of how broken Kate had become searching for him. When he saw the images from the security camera of Beckett coming into the building, he tried to warn her. He tried to scream, but his mouth was covered. The more agitated he became, one of Tyson's men finally injected him with God knows what. From that point on, everything was a jumbled mess. Like sleep walking. There were lucid moments followed by periods of time and conversations that seemed like a dream or that he was watching while under water. Obviously an effect of whatever drugs the serial killer had pumped into his system. He remembered waking up to find Kate with him, but she was still passed out. Castle had recollection of the couple talking and trying to make a plan, but that was when the fog rolled back in his mind. His memory of the details and how they even ended up in this current room originally was completely lost on him. However, he remembered some thug dragging him out of the room and throwing him into a separate area where Tyson was waiting for him. Castle remembered how Tyson laughed about his men learning an interesting detail about their lives, but that was where the memory blackout began. He couldn't recall what Tyson said nor could he recall what torturous events led to his current broken state.

All he knew was they needed to get out of here. He needed to use all his strength that he had left to get them out of here. "Kate…" He choked out, coughing from his lack of fluids. "How secure are those cuffs?"

"What? Castle, if they weren't secure, don't you think I would have tried to get out of them by now?" He smiled at her attitude and her sarcastic response.

"I realize this, but are they police grade? Can you tell?" Castle eased himself up, pausing for a moment as the room began to spin, and then balanced back onto the wall facing Beckett. With adrenaline pumping through his body, he ignored the pain and reached for something that was attached to his belt. When they were safe, he could worry about his injuries…he could worry about his pain. Right now, he had to worry about them and getting them away from Tyson. "Do you think this will help?"

Seriously, only Castle. "What man carries that around with them?" Kate laughed while rolling her eyes in his direction. Across the small room, her fiancé sat there holding up what appeared to be 2 bobby pin type utensils. How in the world? "Castle. Was that honestly what I think it is?"

His small smile grew to one of almost joy. Almost. They were still in a very bleak situation, but this revelation did seem to have them slowly on the upswing of things. "This is my insurance policy on not getting stuck in cuffs again, if I could help it. After our date with the tiger a couple years back, I discovered these bad boys on the internet and found a way to hide them in whatever belt I have worn ever since. With our luck, I figured you could never be too careful." This insane genius man... She looked at him with an awestruck expression.

"I love you. You are a genius. How did he not find that on you?"

"Well for having everything planned out…" He stopped to cough and winced when he tried to take a deep breath. "He didn't really do anything aside from emptying my pockets. I wish I would've been in my right mind earlier and we could've maybe tried to get out of the other set of cuffs he had us in." Castle stopped for a moment and then gently started to move himself closer to Kate.

"Please be careful. We need to get you to a doctor…"

"One thing at a time…first we need to get you out of those and we need us out of this room…"

She could tell that he was pushing the pain aside, fully determined to get this done. To get them away from Tyson... The one thing that Kate loved the most about him was his unwavering protective instinct for the ones he loved. He was the most compassionate and gentle man, but if you dared to threaten his family- a new side appeared. She had only seen that aspect of his personality a couple times, however it had left quite an impression on her. Castle made her feel safe. Now she needed out of the restraints so she could make him feel safe too. Hopefully, she could get him to a hospital. As she quickly assessed his body, she could tell how badly injured he truly was from Tyson's violent attack. He needed medical treatment because she was worried that there were more injuries that she couldn't even see. Once she knew that he was okay…She needed to make sure she was too. Kate shuddered to think if Tyson unknowingly hurt their baby. No, she internally assured herself, everything would be fine. It had to be. "Do you think you can actually pick these locks with that?"

"Well the Amazon product description said that it can help you out of anything…you honestly wouldn't believe the things I've found on there. Its rea-"

"Castle! Not the time…" She rolled her eyes at her fiancé. Even in the toughest of situations and even with the bleakest future, his child-like awe shone through. The man was probably far more injured then she could even see, and yet, here he was, trying to take her mind off of things.

"Sorry! Yes…my hands may be a little shaky right now, but I've practiced picking locks enough times while working on writing the Derrick Storm novels." Castle adjusted his body next to hers after her finally reached her side of the room. Unjustified relief washed over her system. They weren't out of danger and she wasn't even out of the cuffs yet, but he was next to her. "Hi…" He looked down at her with a pained smile and softly brushed his lips against her forehead. "We've got this."

"Okay, we've got this." She believed him. So much so, that the small kiss from him replenished her belief that it was possible for the moment. Castle slowly worked the tension tools and eventually managed to pop one of the restraints open. His smile grew wide and then winced in obvious pain. The pain seemed to distract him long enough that one of the small metal tools slipped from his grasp. Beckett sucked in a quick puff of air and held that breath as she heard the instrument clatter on the cement floor.

"Sorry…my hand couldn't keep a hold of it…" He whispered before they sat silently for a moment. Barely a breath passed between the two of them as they just listened. "I don't think anyone heard. Hell I don't even hear anyone out there…It sounds eerily quiet" With Kate's free hand, she picked up the fallen tool and handed it back to Castle. In a bit of a haze, she gently ran her hand along his wrist, along the freshly formed bruise, and up his torn sleeve of his tuxedo shirt. She then placed her finger against his lips…

"Shhh…We've got this…" He smiled against her finger, steadied his hands the best he could, and worked on the other lock. Before long, her other wrist was free from the iron. Castle carefully traced each wrist with his fingers where the cuffs bruised her, much like she just did and then brought each abused arm to his lips for a light kiss. They both slightly collapsed against the wall for a heartbeat, but they knew there wasn't any time to rest. Beckett started to move toward the door to check out the lock. "You rest for a minute. I'll work on this one…" She messed with the tools a bit before she finally heard the lock click. A small smile formed on her lips. "I did it." Concern fluttered in her stomach. They made it through all the locks, but now what. Castle physically couldn't handle another violent encounter of any sorts. What if they ran into Tyson or any of his men?

"That was pretty hot…" He tried to wink, but the pain was obvious.

"Not the time…hold that thought until we're free and finally home. Do you think you're strong enough to make a run for it?" After a pause, Castle sighed and nodded.

"Kate, it's our only chance. We have to. You can play nurse and worry about me when we're out of here…Sexy nurse outfit would be appreciated…" He smirked at her and then tried to cool his features. She knew this would take a lot out of him…everything he had left. But they can't give up.

"Ha. Okay, Castle. We'll talk about that when we get to that point…let's get out of here for now." Kate reached over for his hand; they both steadied themselves to their feet, and then cautiously opened the door.

Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!