Title: Mystery of the Oxbow

By: greygoose70

Summary: "Why are you being so god damn stubborn!" Castle yelled.

"Because I'm god damn good at it!" Kate yelled right back.

DISCLAIMER: Own nothing associated with the show, AWM, or ABC.

Chapter 7

"Then you might as well shoot, cause we're both going to die anyway.'

"What are…" Blaine began, turning his head just milliseconds before the explosion.

The explosion was loud due to the confined area in the tunnel. The blast strong, propelling the two men out through the entrance of the tunnel into the waterfall that carried them down into the raging torrent of the river.

Castle hit the water hard, was immediately beginning to be carried downstream toward the rapids. He began searching for the shoreline, began swimming toward. Luckily, the blast had caused the handcuffs he had been shackled in to break apart and he had use of his arms. Upon making it to the rocky shore he began looking around for Blaine, then seeing him pass by he pushed off and went to get him. Finally reaching Blaine before he reached the rapids, Castle grabbed Blaine by his coat collar and pulled him to shore where Ryan was waiting along with several other men and they got Blaine and Castle out of the water. "What we gonna do, deputy," Ryan heard one of the posse members shout.

"We're going back," Ryan yelled back, "give me a hand here."

Castle was standing with Esposito when Ryan came over a concerned look on his face. "Do I need to cuff you again, Castle," he said.

Castle glanced up to where the entrance had been, then back at Ryan and replied, "No, I'll behave."

Two days later

Castle was lying on a bunk, in a jail cell when Sheriff Blaine walked in, his right wrist in a cast, his arm in a sling. Blaine took a seat on the bench and said, "I'm tired of hating you Castle, maybe it's time we had that talk."

Castle stood up and walked over to the jail cell door before talking. "Kurt," Castle began, (using Blaine's given name) "You know how I feel about what happened. It still tears me up. I tried so hard to get to her, but the current was so strong. Maybe you're correct, maybe I should have died that day too."

"That would have solved nothing Rick, and I still would have wound up hating you but for a different reason. What do you say we put this hatred behind us and get on with our lives."

"I'm all for that," Rick answered.

"Now as for the drug store robbery. No one in town, including me, wants to see you jailed for stealing a bottle penicillin, so we're dropping the charges."

"Thanks," was all Castle said, but seeing the look on Kurt's face he could tell there was something else on the man's mind. "Is there something else?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kurt stated, "just before the explosion, I thought I saw something. Tell me Rick, what's out there?"

"What do you think is out there?" Rick replied.

Kurt gave Rick a skeptical look, the said, "okay, have it your way. I just hope whatever you're protecting is worth it." He then unlocked the cell door telling Rick he was "free to go."

Epilog

Castle returned to his residence, packs his saddlebags with extra clothing, including a black duster and hat, and other essentials he's going to need, saddles up Lady, climbs aboard and heads out on his journey.

He has made it to where the trail leads up to the tunnel. He knows that way is useless, so he begins looking for another route either over (doubtful), around, or through the mountain - and he finds it - another tunnel halfway around the mountain. Passing through the tunnel he finds himself in a heavily wooded valley, so he takes stock of the time, sees that it will be getting dark soon, so he stops for the night.

It's almost noon the next day when Castle comes upon the previous Cheyenne village. From here the trail they took was easier to follow, so he was able to move along a bit quicker. He was aware that Two Bears and the villagers had a three-day head start but they would be moving at a much slower pace, so with a little luck he might catch up to them by the end of the day, tomorrow at the latest. But again, night-time halted his process and he had to settle in for the night.

By the next morning, a cold front had moved in, and snow began to cover the ground. Castle donned his duster, mounted his horse and proceeded to follow the clues that told him which way their trail led. The woods began to thin out, so Castle could see further in the distance. He saw a clearing up ahead and what he perceived as movement, so he dismounted from Lady and began to walk.

As Castle reached the clearing, he saw Moon Flower playing fetch with Trip. She has thrown the ball in his direction; Trip was running to get it but abruptly stopped and stared in his direction. Castle stepped out into the clearing, Trip instantly recognized his owner and came running. Castle knelled down and caught his faithful companion in his arms. Looking up Castle saw Kate walking toward him, so he set Trip down and walked to her. When they met, they wrapped each other in their arms. After a few moments, Kate leaned back slightly, tilted her head and stared into Castle's blue eyes. "I love you Richard Castle," she said.

"Ditto, Katherine Beckett," Castle replied then placed his lips against hers and kissed her passionately.

Up ahead, Gray Wolf turned to Two Bears and said, "This going to be fun to watch."

End of Story