When Richard Castle opened his eyes everything seemed wrong. He was sitting on a chair, his arms bent backwards and tied to the chair, duct tape over his mouth. The situation was oddly like one he'd encountered before. Difference was that the previous time he was in his loft and he'd been tied to the chair by Alexis, not in some shifty dark room with some nameless killer. It took him a while to rearrange everything that had happened and he realized his mind was oddly blank at some point. He groaned inwardly and tried to discern anything in the darkness. The only thing he really remembered was the phone call to Beckett. Beckett, god, she was alive. The last thing he remembered was screaming, begging Beckett not to come looking for him. He wanted to believe she wouldn't, but truth was he didn't know what to expect of Katherine Beckett anymore. She was truly a mystery he was never going to solve. Problem was that he wasn't even sure he would be able to trust her ever again.

"Mr. Castle." He clenched his eyes shut and blinked violently against the bright light that was suddenly turned on. He balled his fists when he heard the familiar voice and felt the urge to shout every single curse he could conjure up at him, hadn't the duct tape prevented him from anything but a hateful mumble.
"I don't think you heard it, but she's coming for you. You are a writer, you have got to acknowledge it's very poetic that she ran away to protect you, and is now running towards what she's running from to do the same." He mused and chuckled. Castle dug his nails into his palm at his words. She was coming for him, she was going to die and it was all his fault.

"And Mr. Castle?"
Castle lifted his head up, anger and guilt fighting for a place in his once-blue eyes.
"You've got front row seats to the show."

Kate saw the snipers the moment she walked onto the terrain. She couldn't help but wonder if one of them caused her heart to stop, caused her to be marked by death on her skin for what little remained of her life. She slowly walked, every step calculated, careful, as if every other moment they'd decide that taking her out right now would be a whole lot more efficient. She lifted her hands in the sky and tried to restrain her cop-instincts to grab her gun and run for cover. She didn't have her gun on her anyway. Her breathing threatened to betray her and her heart was beating violently against her chest. The only thing keeping her calm was repeating over and over why she did this. She came to do what she had intended to the moment she left: protect the people she loved.

She startled when she was gripped by her arm. She turned towards him instinctively and glared into his eyes. She didn't recognize or remember him, but she'd be damned if he wouldn't remember her. She hoped her eyes were determined, didn't show the turmoil of doubt and anger raging inside her. She didn't blink when his hands went over her body to check for any weapons. He eventually nodded at her and pointed towards the door. Disappearing in the shadows without another word. She breathed out and closed her eyes, allowed herself to assess the situation once again. To remember every good moment she ever had, to remember Castle's words.

I love you.

She breathed and balled her fists before she opened the door and stepped through it.
Because, after all, she loved him too.

Castle's heart froze the moment he saw her stepping inside. He had known she was alive for days now, but seeing her, actually seeing her, left him almost shell-shocked. He wanted to scream at her, beg her to turn around while she still had the chance, but all he could do was helplessly watch her walk into the warehouse. He exactly registered the moment she saw him. A range of emotions flying over her face that he couldn't even bother to name anymore.
"Castle." She whispered on a sigh. Her relief at him being alive stung and he suddenly wished they had just killed him the moment they took him. At least one of them would have gotten out of this alive that way, because he sure as hell didn't believe that they would let him go. He struggled against his restraints, tried to warn her with his eyes, his cut-off voice, with everything to run away.
But she didn't. She came walking to him, probably aware that though they seemed alone in the warehouse, she could get shot down any moment by an anonymous killer.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered and he heard her voice cracking. "I'm so sorry." She breathed again. Neither of them knew exactly what she was apologizing for. Maybe leaving him behind, maybe coming here to save him or maybe just for loving him the way she did. Castle didn't know what to do, and if he could have spoken a word, he wouldn't have known what to say either. All he could do was stare at her, the reality that she was alive, about to die again, swallowing him whole. The idea that she was so close to him, yet so far away and that he was utterly and completely useless numbing and crippling him. "I'm so sorry." She mumbled when she was just two steps away from him and without warning their eyes crossed paths. He now saw the tears that were streaming down her cheeks, he saw everything that went unspoken between them, everything about them that would die along with her. Dreams that never were and never would be.

God, he was so sorry too.
They really messed up. Again.

"Katherine Beckett!" She didn't flinch even as her name sounded through the warehouse. She held her eyes focused on Castle's, her gaze not leaving his for even a moment. If she had to die here, in front of him, he would hear every single thing she wanted to say to him, even if she couldn't bring herself to speak the words.
"I'm so sorry Castle." She breathed again and she shakily stretched her hand out to reach for his hand. Before she could reach it she felt a pressure against her temple and she knew exactly what was happening.
"Don't even think about it." The voice rumbled into her ear and she froze, but she didn't flinch. She had made peace with this, if she had to die, this wasn't such a bad way to go. She only hoped Castle would be able see it the way she did. Her eyes didn't leave him, tried to convey to him that it was okay. She didn't react to the man standing next to her, not to the gun pressing against her temple because it didn't matter anymore. A thousands thoughts were running through her head about her mother, about Castle, about her father, about Lanie and the boys, but not about this gun, because she always knew she'd end up here, eventually.
"Didn't I warn you Kate? You can't run, you can't hide." She could feel his breath over her check, could almost feel the grin when he whispered the words into her ear. Kate didn't look at him, her look still focused on Castle. "Damn…" She heard a chuckle of disdain. "You really love him don't you?" Only at those words she flinched slightly and he brought his mouth close to her ear, lowered his voice until she wasn't sure if it was really there. "Spoiler alert sweetheart. He won't live."

A single gunshot echoed through the warehouse accompanied by a silent shout from Richard Castle.
As Kate Beckett dropped to the floor.

Kinda short chapter, but this seemed like a good place to stop (*evil chuckle*)

As always interested in your opinion. :)