Kidnapped Ch.15

'Kate, I'm okay. I promise,' Castle told her as Kate stayed snuggled up against his chest, her body feeling weak and shaky. Her hands clung on to his with a death grip.

'Kate, it's just a graze on my arm; I'm really fine,' Castle soothed her, as Kate adjusted her position slightly. 'Now can you loosen your hand?' She let go, shifting slightly so that her ear was directly above his heart as she listened to the reassuring thump of his heartbeat.

'There was so much blood,' Kate murmured slightly, still refusing to look up and meet his eye.

'Kate, I swear I am completely fine. You heard the doctor as well. It's just a scratch, and it probably won't have any lasting effects on me. Well, other than this little scar, maybe. I can brag that I was injured in action, and everyone will be impressed beyond words. Anyway, it's going to be alright. Everything is going to be alright,' Castle told her, and Kate's head shot up.

'Everything is not alright, Rick. It was for me. The person that shot you was after me, but he or she shot you instead. What if you moved to the left at that moment? What if it was just a little closer to here?' Kate asked, jabbing his chest forcefully with her finger. 'What if you are gone, just like that? How do you think I'll feel?'

'Kate, we can't live our lives thinking "what if"s. It'll drive you nuts. We need to do is focus on what we should do now, not what we should've done,' Castle told her firmly.

'Then maybe you should go,' Kate told him, fighting the tears that threaten to spill out of her eyes when she uttered those words.

'What? No,' Castle exclaimed. 'Kate, what are you talking about?'

'Castle, I can't do this. If you get hurt because of me… The guilt will crush me, destroy me. If not in body, then in spirit. I won't be able to live with myself,' Kate pleaded, her heart breaking at the crushed look on his face. Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Esposito and Ryan came in.

'Hi…' Esposito started but trailed off, seeing Kate's upset, guilty face and the crushed expression on Castle's face. 'Is this a bad time? We could come back –'

'She just asked me to leave her,' Castle stated in disbelief. A clear, indignant voice rang out from the corridor.

'She did what?' Lanie exclaimed incredulously, looking as if she would like nothing more than to shake some sense into Kate. 'Girl, you find the man of your dreams, and you tell him to – what, abandon you in your hour of need? What is going on in that head of yours?'

'I don't want to talk about it,' Kate answered, looking away from all of them, and kept her eyes fixed on the window; she had been moved into another room after the incident. 'I just need some time alone to think, clear my head. Please?'

The others all nodded and left the room reluctantly, but Castle just stood there, determination and stubbornness written across his features.

'Castle, please, I can't let you get hurt because of me. I can't do that to Alexis,' Kate told him wearily.

'What about me, Kate? How is this fair to me? You are my wife, and Alexis is your daughter just as much as she is mine. You can't just push us away whenever there's any sign of trouble. That's not a marriage. Remember our vows?' Castle took her hands tenderly in his, and pulled her into a standing position. He stared down into her doe brown eyes, where fear and despair and desperation swirled and churned. How he longed to take it all away from her.

'I, Richard Edgar Castle, take you, Katherine Houghton Beckett, to be my lawfully wedded wife, my constant friend, my faithful partner-in-crime-solving and my love from this day forward. I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, in joy and in sorrow, and to love and cherish you forever. I promise you this from my heart, for all of eternity,' Castle whispered, wiping away Kate's silent tears. 'Don't you see? In good times and in bad. I'm pretty sure that includes an attempted assassination, and more.'

She continued to weep, and he tilted her head upward. "Kate, listen to me. I'm not going to go anywhere, no matter how hard you try to push me away. I'm going to be right here, and we will get through this together,' Castle told her, and Kate sunk into his waiting embrace.

'I'm scared,' Kate admitted, finally stopping to try and force him away. She was tired of fighting, tired of being selfless, and most of all, tired of being scared.

'I know,' Castle answered, stroking her hair. 'I am too.'

Another attempt. To be specific, it was another failed attempt. He signed his name at the bottom of the paper with a little more force than necessary, quietly letting the anger out of his system without alerting any of the people outside the office.

How hard is it to get rid of one person? Who is, by the way, an injured female with her useless excuse of a husband. They needed her out of the way if they were to continue with this and to succeed in their ultimate goal. He had already lost some of his best helpers in his group, and now his secret weapon had also failed him.

He buried his face in his hands and he massaged his temple tiredly. He had no idea how he was going to proceed, and the boss had demanded another interview.

He let out a long sigh as he pulled another stack of paperwork sitting towards him. Perhaps it was time he had a talk with his old friend, and figure out what to do.

'I'm really bored,' Kate whined childishly, and Castle chuckled slightly.

'I'm surprised that you lasted two weeks in here,' Castle teased her and she smacked him lightly. She was really glad that he had taken her up on her offer; instead, he was teasing her about it by blaming her hormones.

'Well, then, what I'm going to tell you is going to put you in a much better mood,' the doctor announced as he walked into the room. 'I think that you are well enough to go home. Your reports from this morning are in, and everything is normal.'

Before he even finished speaking, Kate was already out of bed and rummaging through her bagful of clothes in preparation of departure.

'Woah, there, Mrs. Castle. There are some conditions to your freedom. First of all, no going back to work at all. You can work a desk job once you get back, but for this week, I want you to stay at home on a couch or a bed. Medications must be taken regularly, even if you think that you are better, alright? Remember: no field work anytime soon,' the doctor warned her, all traces of playfulness gone.

'I understand,' Kate answered impatiently. 'Now can I go change and get back home?'

'Of course you can,' the doctor laughed. 'And I hope never to see you here again.'

'Same here, doc,' Castle agreed wholeheartedly, as Kate closed the toilet door behind her.

'Mr. Castle. You need to keep an eye on her. If she shows any sign of PTSD, you need to take her to a therapist. We cannot give her the normal antidepressants due to her pregnancy, and the stress from PTSD is not beneficial at all to both mother and baby,' the doctor told him in a low voice, and Castle nodded.

'I understand,' he answered.

'We're finally back,' Castle sighed happily as he unlocked the front doors. It felt like it had been forever since they had walked through the doors together.

'We are,' Kate agreed. The door opened with a snap, and her vision was immediately blocked by a mass of red hair as Alexis wrapped her arms tightly around her waist.

'I'm okay, Alexis. I'm fine,' Kate reassured the young redhead, hugging her back.

'Don't leave me again, Kate. Don't leave me,' the redhead pleaded, her face etched with worry.

'I won't. I promise I'll do everything in my power not to leave again,' Kate answered her, smiling. Alexis seemed so grown up now, or perhaps it was just her imagination. Castle had disappeared into the kitchen to prepare her meds. A glass of water stood ready on the counter-top next to him, and as he dug through the plastic bag with all her pills, his flailing elbow caught the edge of the glass and pushed it dangerously close to the edge.

Kate frowned. 'Rick –'

She was too late. The glass wavered on the edge, as if deciding to fall or not, before gravity won the battle. With a loud crash, the glass dropped and splintered into a thousand sparkling shards.

Kate immediately crouched down and curled into a ball, letting out a ear-splitting scream, her mind flashing back to when she was held against her will.

Heedless of the sharp glass, Castle took a flying leap across them and knelt next to her. 'Kate? Kate? Can you hear me?' Castle called, panicked. Alexis just stood there, watching one of the strongest woman that she knew crumble, like the glass that had splintered into irreparable pieces, a poor echo of its former self.

A/N: Yep, not a cliffie. Amazing, huh? Well, you have Bianca tabbycat to thank for that. She scared me so badly with her threats regarding the last cliffhangers that I just did not dare to put one in this time. XD

As usual, PLEASE REVIEW. Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please.

This chapter is dedicated to Bianca tabbycat, who insisted that I at least try to proofread my own chapters. She's pretty sure that despite her protests, I will leave her all the hard work. Besides… she helps me add some of the more emotional stuff. If you like the wedding vow part and the last glass-symbolic part, thank her.

Zoe tabbycat