"Are you out of your mind? We need to get rid of him!"
"We can't."
"Yes, we can. I'll take him out into the park somewhere. It'll look like a mugging gone wrong."
"This is Richard Castle, Jeremy. You can't kill him."
"Of course I can. This is all your fault, you know? If you hadn't brought him here-"
"My fault? This is not my fault you madman. All you had to do was tell James that we were ready to unload the gift. Instead, you kill him and now we have-"
"Shut up, Bridget! Castle knows what we look like, did that ever occur to you? He can identify both of us and he knows James was here. What are you thinking?"
"I don't see why we have to kill him…"
"We're not keeping him!"
"Let me think about it. There has to be something we can do."
"There is. We can kill him."
Castle stirred restlessly in his sleep, the nightmare a familiar one. He struggled to free himself from the manacles that were holding him in place, but they were tight, and his arms were killing him from all the previous tries. Pain lanced through his body as he tried to move, but he found himself held in place.
"Easy…"
The voice didn't belong in his nightmare. It was soft, for one thing, and there was an undercurrent of concern and even love in that voice. Alone, though, it probably wouldn't have been enough. His nightmare had him in its grip and it was a strong one. Gentle hands brushed against his cheek, though, and then he was being held and that same voice murmured to him, assuring him that he was safe and nothing could hurt him.
"Kate?"
He knew he had to hold on. Beckett had to be looking for him by then, and all he needed to do was somehow manage to keep himself alive until she managed to figure out where he was. Of course, she didn't know where he was. She didn't know about the secret room – even if she found the storefront. She'd never find him. He was going to die alone, and she'd never know what had happened and why.
"Easy, Rick…" the voice whispered. "I've got you."
"You found me?"
That didn't sound right, but even in his nightmare he recognized Beckett's voice, and that wasn't something Bridget could imitate.
"Sleep, Castle," she whispered, her voice warm and soft in his ear. "I'll keep you safe."
He tried to refuse – he had to stay awake and find a way to escape – but her body was warm against him and her embrace promised security and a chance to rest. The nightmare lost its hold against her touch, and he settled against her and drifted off again.
OOOOOOOOOO
Beckett ran her fingers lightly and carefully through Castle's hair as she held him. He'd started mumbling to himself a short time after they'd fallen asleep, and she'd woken almost immediately. They hadn't turned the bedroom light off, so it was easy enough for her to see his brow was pinched, and she wasn't convinced that it was pain. When he started squirming, she'd tried to calm him with a touch, but had quickly realized that that wasn't going to be enough. Intent on trying to keep him asleep – since she knew he wouldn't go back to sleep if he woke up – Beckett slipped under the blankets he was under and wrapped her arms around him so she could reassure him that he was safe.
"Easy…" she whispered.
He mumbled something but he didn't wake, and Beckett shifted without letting him go until she was comfortable again. She closed her eyes and let her fingers drop from his hair to his chest, but she stroked his skin lightly, reassuring him as well as she could without waking him.
"Kate?"
His voice had a sleepy quality that told her he wasn't awake.
"Shh… I'm here…"
"You won't leave?"
"No."
He went limp in her arms and she continued to murmur to him and stroke him until the action put her back to sleep as well.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
"You want to know a secret, Rick? I can call you Rick, can't I?"
The haze of never ending pain made him groggy – or maybe it was the fact that he hadn't slept in what felt like days – and all he could manage was a nod.
"Sure…"
She giggled and her hand came out to touch his cheek.
"I knew we'd get along. Jeremy doesn't understand, but I couldn't ever let him kill you. I love you, you know? Your books are amazing – your characters are so vivid, so real. I feel like they're real people."
"Is that the secret?"
"No." She giggled again – a scary sound that made him think of someone who wasn't quite all there. "I stole the gift."
"The gift?"
"Jeremy will be so angry…" she giggled again, and her hand slid along his cheek, again. The touch was enough to make his skin crawl. "But he won't know where it is, so he'll have to do what I tell him, or he won't get any of the money."
"What's the gift?"
"It's a secret, Rick," she said. "And if I tell you Jeremy will kill you. I won't be able to talk him out of it. And then he'll kill me."
"What's the gift…?"
"He'll kill me."
"The gift…?"
"He'll kill you."
"The gift…"
"Castle?"
It wasn't Bridget. The voice wasn't deranged. It was soft, and the hand cradling his face wasn't the same. It was comforting, and he longed for the touch.
"The gift…"
"Castle…" Beckett's voice again. "Go to sleep."
"I can't. It's dark. If I sleep he might kill me…"
"He can't get near you," she promised. "I'll keep you safe."
"He killed her…"
"Who?"
"She stole the gift. She said he'd kill her if he found out."
"What's the gift, Rick?"
He sighed; exhaustion and her comforting presence dragging him back to his restless sleep. Beckett sensed she was losing him – just as she was getting some answers – and while she didn't want to wake him she definitely wanted to hear more.
"Rick?"
"Hmmm?"
"What's the gift?"
"I don't know."
He drifted off; not even she could keep him awake just then, and Beckett made sure the blankets were covering him still. Then she reached for her phone. Not to make a call – she wasn't going to wake the guys this late – but just to leave herself a message so she wouldn't forget what she wanted to look into in the morning. The movement pulled her away from Castle, and he roused a little.
"Easy… I'm here…"
She held him again, and he went back to sleep.
It took Beckett quite a bit longer before she did.