Kidnapped Ch.24
'Well, detective Beckett, we meet again,' Bracken told her in a silky voice, his hand steady as he moved the gun to her temple.
'We had a deal,' Kate gritted out, as fear coursed through her veins. She heard the ambulance outside the building pulling away, and her heart sank. The others were all probably taken to the hospital for a checkup, and now she was alone with a gun-wielding Bracken, completely defenseless.
'Tsk tsk, detective. You really have to learn to leave things that are none of your business alone. If you did, you and your child will not be in this position,' Bracken scolded her mockingly, taking advantage of what he had learnt about Kate's weakness.
Guilt and regret immediately flooded through Kate. She dragged a deep, rattling breath into her lungs, trying not to weep over her past actions. Cookie was innocent, and now, he or she would not live to see the world. If she had left this entire matter alone, maybe it would not have turned out this way. Maybe she and baby would both be safe in their home, with Castle hovering over her and telling her about what had happened at the station… Shaking her head, Kate forced herself out of this reverie. She squared her shoulders and stared at Bracken in the eye.
'Then you should learn to stop killing people. You won't be getting away with this. The boys and my husband will come back soon,' Kate told him with absolute conviction.
'You certainly have a lot of faith in them,' Bracken told her, with a slight frown. As she watched, it slowly curled into a smile. 'Or is that just plain stupidity?'
Kate's eyes darted around as she desperately looked around for an escape route, or a weapon, or anything that could distract him long enough so that she could get away. Bracken laughed at her feeble efforts.
'No one is here, detective Beckett, and no one will be coming back anytime soon,' Bracken told her, smirking. 'It's just you and me. When I kill you… The papers will call it a tragedy. It'll make the headlines: a pregnant cop checking on her mother's belongings, only to have a mugger take everything in here. He was forced to shoot you to prevent you from catching him,' Bracken smiled in satisfaction, and Kate snorted.
'That is the stupidest story I've ever heard,' Kate said matter-of-factly, and Bracken glared at her.
'That's completely beside the point. I hold the key to the New York Police Department. No one will ever suspect me,' Bracken declared. Kate's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing in response.
'We've chatted long enough. Sweet dreams, detective,' Bracken said softly, and Kate squeezed her eyes shut. Images of Lanie, of Esposito, of Ryan, and most importantly, of Castle and Alexis, swam before her eyes. Silently, she bid farewell to each of them, waiting for herself to fade to nothingness.
The shot never came. Instead, she heard a sudden cry and scuffling sounds. Kate's eyes snapped open in alarm, taking in the scene unfolding in front of her.
Esposito had kicked the gun away from Bracken, and the two of them were now fighting against each other for the weapon. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Castle inching towards her cautiously. Feeling nothing but relief and joy and hope, she began to step towards her husband.
The next thing she knew, there was a sudden wall of pain, a blur of colors and motion, and then her mind went black.
Castle sat beside Kate on the ambulance, his hand gripping hers tightly as he prayed to get out of this nightmare. She was once again on the ambulance, fighting for her life just like she had done so less than a year ago.
As they reached the hospital, the doctors pushed him away from Kate as they surveyed the damage and talked in rapid doctor-speak. Castle sank down on the chairs in the waiting room. He was exhausted both mentally and physically, and the blow to his head earlier did nothing to help with his exhaustion. His eyes remained firmly opened nonetheless, as the scene replayed itself in his mind.
Flashback:
Moving carefully towards Kate, Castle kept an eye on what was happening beside him. Esposito had the guy's full attention as he dodged and avoid blows with every ounce of concentration.
He had to get Kate out of here. Catching her eye, he gave her a small encouraging nod, and she began to walk towards him slowly. Seeing this, Esposito fought even harder, making sure that Kate could get out safely.
It happened so quickly. In an instant, Bracken ducked Esposito's fist, twisted around, and punched Kate right in her face. She staggered backwards, her hand going up automatically to defend herself. A look of shock and agony crossed her face as she fell.
Castle could only watch, frozen in place. Time seemed to slow down as he watched Kate's descent, her hair drifting out beautifully, as those lovely eyes of hers widened. Despite her round stomach, she still fell elegantly with the grace of a warrior.
Her body gave a loud thud as she hit the ground hard, and her head caught the sharp corner of the metal box. A sickening crack sounded in the air, and blood began to pool beneath her head as her eyes fluttered closed.
Bracken seized his chance and went in the opposite direction immediately, fleeing from the scene. Esposito snapped to his senses and took off after after him, with Ryan hot on his tail.
Castle ran towards Kate, dialing the EMTs' number with shaky hands. He carefully moved the metal box out of the way, and lowered Kate's head on his lap. His hands were once again covered in her blood, and it was still warm and sticky.
End flashback
With that, Castle gagged. Having that feeling once on his hand was more than enough. This was the second time he had done this, and it was two times too many.
'Mr. Castle?' A doctor called, and Castle jumped up immediately.
'Is my wife okay?' Castle asked anxiously, and the doctor looked at him solemnly.
'Mr. Castle, Mrs. Castle has listed you as her emergency contact. We need you to make a decision now,' the doctor told him. 'This is not going to be an easy choice to make, but we need an answer quickly.'
'Yes. What is it?' Castle asked, his voice thick and dry.
Kate gave a low groan as the fog and haze in her brain retreated. She blinked her way back to reality, and there were sighs of relief from everyone in the room. However, all she could register was that the pain and the feeling that something was different. Glancing to her left, she saw Alexis sitting right next to her, but Castle was nowhere seen.
Her hands trailed down her stomach instinctively, and that was when she realized what was wrong. She no longer had a bump.
'Where's cookie? Alexis, where's my baby?' Kate asked, her heart beating quicker and quicker as she realized the baby was no longer with her at 29 weeks.
A/N: Ta da! Here we go: another chapter, and of course, another cliffhanger. I'm telling you all, I really love them. I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and I do believe that this will end in another two to three chapters, so I need your opinion. Should I leave it with an open ending, or should I wrap it up with a super fluffy and cute epilogue? Tell me in your reviews.
As usual, PLEASE REVIEW. Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please.
This is dedicated to my favorite beta, Bianca tabbycat, for taking time out of physics homework to beta my story. LOVE YA LOADS!
Zoe tabbycat