Disclaimer: Wish I did, but I don't. So I live in fantasyland...

A/N: Thanks for all the love and reviews and comments. You guys are awesome! Joanna and Janna- thanks for the help as always!

Chapter 6

Of course the door had to make a loud creak the moment they opened it. Beckett rolled her eyes at the insanity of the current situation. They were both in a semi-drug induced haze and they were trying to escape a mad man. To make matters worse, Castle was barely able to keep it together while walking through the door. She looked back at him, gave him a small smile, and lightly rubbed her thumb over the top of the hand that she held for encouragement. This would be tough, but they needed to act now and think later.

Peeking around the dark hallway, there was no sign of anyone or anything. There wasn't even an indication of what type of building they were in. They were basically dragging themselves through the corridor completely blind to what could be around the corner or through the door. Not exactly ideal. However, ideal or not…this was their option. This was what they had to do in order to get out and get the help they both needed. Keeping their backs up against the wall, they reached the end of the hallway about to turn the corner…

"Hey, how the hell did you guys get out?" Shit! One of Tyson's men was standing right in front of them, but he didn't seem to be armed.

"Castle, run!" Beckett cried and basically shoved him past the man who was trying to block their way. Sure she was weak from not remembering when her last meal was, but her years of work outs and training were all for moments like these. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, Kate decked the man in the face and then got lost in the moment. Her out-of-body experience continued throughout the struggle, but her strength started to falter. The man was almost twice the size as Beckett and almost as well-trained in hand to hand combat. Before she knew it, he had her to the ground with his thick callused hands harshly grasping at her neck…her body tensed. This was it, hopefully Castle made it out at least... She struggled for breath and tried to free herself from his grip.

"Beckett!" Damnit Castle. However his voice broke through her attacker's concentration and he faltered just for a moment. That hesitation gave her the opportunity to knee him in the groin which debilitated him long enough for Castle to kick the man off of his fiancée. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Kate scrambled on all fours and punched him several times until he was unconscious.

Her eyes darted up to Castle who was hunched over breathing heavily. "Thank you, Castle. But you were supposed to leave; you need to get out of here…" His head slowly lifted so his eyes could meet hers. Yes, there was pain behind them. Anyone could see that. But behind the pain, his love for her shone through the darkness.

"I'm not leaving without you, Kate." The bruises on his skin were turning into uglier colors by the minute and she was pretty sure he had a couple broken bones. However, he managed to free her from the madman's hold with strength and stamina he shouldn't have left. Kate smiled up at him as she propped herself onto her feet. She gently kissed his cheek, and grabbed his hand.

"Thanks…" She whispered up to the man she loved. "Let's try this again…" Now able to reassess the hallway they entered before they were jumped, an exterior door is visible at the very end…about 4 doors down. Four doors where Tyson or others could be lurking... Four doors. They didn't have a choice. "Castle, do you think you can run?"

"I'll die trying…" She shot him a glare. Even in awful situations, he was still cracking jokes!

"Poor choice of words, Castle…" Kate reached up to kiss him on the lips, gave him a small smile, and squeezed him had for reassurance. "I love you."

"Love you, too. Let's get out of here…" Here goes nothing. It happened in a flash. One moment they were hesitantly staring at each other and the next moment they were practically sprinting out the door to freedom. The fresh air tasted delicious and cold on their weathered bodies. Freedom…but now that they were out, more questions came to mind.

Nothing familiar. Trees and lush greenery lined all the perimeters of their vision. Which way to go? How had Tyson not found them? Her thoughts were frenzied but she needed a focused mind. She needed to be a cop now, victim later. Tyson would realize that they were gone soon enough and they needed to be far away before that happened. She looked over at Castle as he was swaying back and forth. "Any ideas?"

"Look over there…" He pointed to their right, as he gasped for air from their near sprint out of the rundown building. "The trees aren't as dense over on that side…I can almost make out a road. It may be our best shot…" Without having a clear plan on how they would get help, getting out of Tyson's line of fire was first priority and any idea was better than no idea.

"Sounds like the best plan we've got. Do you think you can keep walking?"

"Kate, I really don't have much of a choice. Please stop worrying about me. I'll be fine until we get help. Now let's get moving!" Beckett looked over her back to make sure that no one was watching them. Thankfully they were in the clear. It was almost like their luck was changing. If by luck changing, it meant they were walking into a wooded area as the sun was setting and they were God knows where…yeah some luck.

Hours seemed to pass by as they wandered through the wooded area and out onto the road at the other side. While they hadn't quite made it to a phone or any civilization, they did see what appeared to be a town in the distance. Problem being, they were both tired and their adrenaline was wearing thin. The trauma that their bodies had endured was finally catching up to them both. There appeared to be a gas station a couple of miles down the road, but exhaustion finally made her stop in her tracks. "I need to sit down for a bit…I think the last couple days are finally taking their toll on me…" Sure, sitting on the side of the road was probably not the safest or the best of ideas, but she couldn't physically move any further.

"It's fine. I could really use a break too." Kate pulled both of her legs underneath herself as she just let the tension release from her body. Castle sat down next to her, pulling her close to his body. He brushed a feather-like kiss into her hair and let out a sigh.

"We would've still been on our honeymoon..." Tears gently roll down her cheek as she choked back a sob. "And now…"

"And now, we're alive and we're together. The rest is just details, Kate. You are not getting rid of me and soon enough, we will get married. But you know- we're already a family. The paperwork and ceremony will happen as soon as possible, but those details won't change our love for one another." She cuddled closer to him without trying to hurt him. She knew his body was more battered than obvious and knew there were bruises that couldn't be seen.

"Thank you. I feel the same way, but I want it to be official in every sense. Because you are my home…" She stopped for a minute, trying to steady her voice. "That's why I was so lost. Staring at that car…all of me seemed to be burning before my eyes. I kept telling myself that you weren't in there, but until I knew for sure…it took everything within me to not run to the car myself…I'm so happy you're here with me now." It's crazy to think that everything was so different just a little over a week ago. The wedding was supposed to be their dream and instead of a dream it quickly turned into a nightmare. Now they were on the run from a serial killer, on the side of the road in a yet to be known town, and they both needed medical attention badly.

She looked up to her fiancé and could only imagine the pain that was seizing throughout his body. Castle took the brunt of Tyson's wrath and she avoided the same fate because of his selflessness. Little did he know, he potentially also protected their unborn child. The baby…he needed to know. Rubbing her hand across his thigh, she turned and nuzzled her nose against his neck before placing a light kiss on the patch of skin below his ear. "Castle, there is something I need to tell you. Something I found out a day or so ago… It gave me hope that I would find you and now that you're here with me. I couldn't be happier about it. I think you'll feel the same. I'm pr…"

Just as she was about to deliver the news, car headlights could be seen in the distance. Oh no…Tyson? Did they track them down? "Shit!" They both hustled to their feet and started to run toward the town in the distance. They were trying to outrun a car when neither one was at their peak physical condition. It was a losing battle.

The car was on their tail before they knew it. Slowing down to keep pace with them, the side window rolled down and the passenger yelled out to them. "Hey…hey. Are you guys in trouble?" Beckett glanced over at the car and finally realized that it wasn't Tyson or any of his men. The occupants of the car appeared to be an average mid-aged couple. While neither of them could be completely positive that they weren't ax-murders, at this rate they were willing to take their chances with them before they go back up against Tyson.

Out of breath from their run, Beckett looked back at Castle and he nodded his approval. "Yes. I'm Detective Kate Beckett from the NYPD. We need a hospital." The car rolled to a stop and the woman who was sitting in the passenger seat motioned for them to get in the back.

"Get in. It's just a little down the road. Not too far out of our way…" She smiled at Castle and Beckett as they piled into the unlocked backseat. Kate grabbed his hand and gave him a smile. This was just the help they needed. It was going to be okay. Relaxing into the seat, Kate laid her head onto Castle's shoulder and fell asleep before they made it to the hospital. Her body was finally at ease with the sheer hopefulness that they were almost to safety.

TBC

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