Kidnapped Ch.30

Kate's face was grim as she strapped on her Kevlar vest. Her mind was filled with images of Castle, Alexis and Oliver. She knew that now, when she into a crime scene, it wasn't only her at stake. She was also putting Castle, Alexis and Oliver at risk. How would they cope if she suffered a fatal injury?

Her hands paused in their work as Castle came up behind her. His face was filled with worry and reluctance.

'Kate, I'm just going to ask you once. Will you…?' Castle trailed off, unsure of whether he should continue. Turning around, Kate looked at him in the eye, and grabbed his hand tightly in hers.

'You're asking if I'll not go in, aren't you?' Kate finished for him. 'Rick, he was the reason that I fell into the rabbit hole of my mother's murder for over a decade. He was the reason why Ollie was so close to losing his life. He was the reason why I was shot in the chest, and he was the reason why we almost never saw each other again. I have to be there to take him down, Rick.'

'You have me now, Kate, and Alexis, and Ollie. How do you think we would feel if… if something happens to you?' Castle asked, frustrated at the fact that Kate was unwilling to back down from this.

'I will be careful, trust me. I just… I just need to see with my own eyes that he's going down, and that he's going to pay for what he did. The idea of that is so amazing and unrealistic that if I don't see it, I'm not going to believe it,' Kate told him, desperate for his support and understanding.

He stared at her, unable to speak, and he pulled her into a hug. With such a simple gesture, she could feel both his love and his fear of losing her all over again, and she hugged him back tightly, letting him feel her love too.

'I love you, Rick. Always,' Kate told him.

'But I love you more,' Castle replied, letting her fingers slip through his hands unwillingly. As soon as she turned around, he quickly strapped on his own 'Writer' Kevlar, and walked up to Kate.

'Rick. We've talked about this. You are not going in,' Kate lectured him, her hands on her hips.

'Kate, just as we said earlier, I'm your partner. I will not just leave when things get tough. We are in this together,' Castle answered her calmly, as he took a gun from Esposito. 'And before you ask, Bob helped me get this. It's perfectly legal.'

Kate shook her head in exasperation. Only he would get the mayor to help him get a gun.

'Rick, I need to know that someone will go home to Alexis and Ollie tonight. There are no guarantees that we'll make it out safe,' Kate pleaded again, but Rick shook his head stubbornly.

'I'm your partner. I've got your back. This way, we can both go home together tonight,' Castle told her.

Her heart welled with love once again, as she stood there. From the look on his face, she knew that she was not going to get him to change his mind. Her mindset immediately shifted from Kate Beckett-Castle to one of the best cops in New York City. Giving a brief nod and a smile, she turned back to her team for today.

'Our suspect is a 6 foot 2 Caucasian male with brown hair and blue eyes. He is most likely armed and dangerous, so proceed with caution,' Kate briefed them, holding out a picture of William Bracken.

Everyone nodded as they took in his most distinctive features. Armed SWAT teams began to head towards the target building, their footsteps silent as they filtered steadily into the building.

Kate followed them, joined by Ryan, Esposito and Castle. She let Ryan and Esposito go first, and stood next to Castle. For a second, they stopped, and allowed their eyes to connect, communicating without words yet again. They knew they were in this together, and they were going to get out of this together.

William Bracken pushed his hands through his hair. His keen eyes had spotted one of the NYPD snipers, and he knew that there must be others in position, ready to get him when they got the signal to so do. Despite all this, he felt no fear. He did not get to where he was for nothing. After all, he was still a man with many skills.

Pulling out a gun from his drawer, he quickly loaded it, and loaded his spare chamber as well. There is only going to be one winner tonight, and he was damn well going to make sure that it was him.

A/N: Yep, I'm still feeling relatively okay, but the week is taking its toll on me, so a little shorter, but I'll get the big takedown in the next chapter, so it will be a much longer one. This is a sort of filler, but I really wanted to use this, so here we go.

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

This chapter is dedicated to Bianca tabbycat for being the most wonderful beta ever.

Zoe tabbycat