A/N: Set in 3x13, in a world where Josh doesn't exist.

"From what I hear though, she was pretty tasty."

Beckett rises, fuming, her chair toppling over as she slams Vulcan hard into the mirror, the glass breaking and splintering with the force. She had been simmering the whole interrogation, the insults about her mother burning in her mind, Castle jumping readily to her defense. She's boiling now, red hot anger swirling through her veins from Vulcan pushing too far, her hands squeezing tight around his collar.

She yells at Castle to back off, her partner all too ready to pull her away, or possibly fight with her, but she doesn't want him in this, she's got it under control. It's her fight.

"Remember your old life, Vulcan. Savor it. Because I'm going to take it all away." She's up close, seething as she breathes the threat. She pushes him harder before she releases her hands, hearing the glass crunch with their weight. He's staring down at her, his smile making her stomach churn, but she holds her ground, her fingers curling into a fist to stop her from doing any more damage.

Ryan and Esposito burst into the room, yelling her name, but before she can step away and let them take him, Vulcan growls, latching onto her arm then pushing her away, so forceful that it knocks the wind out of her and she falls backwards. She cries out, her shoulder pops, and she doesn't even have a chance to grab onto anything before she goes down, hitting her head hard on the table.

Her vision blurs and pain shoots through her arm, dislocated shoulder, she thinks, faintly remembering a similar pain from when she was new on the force.

She slumps against the leg of the table she fell against, trying to get her bearings. She reaches a hand to the back of her head, another source of throbbing that makes her dizzy and shaky. Her hair is sticky and hot with her blood, and she pulls her hand away, inspecting the crimson that stains her fingers.

Well that can't be good, she thinks almost idiotically, the pounding in her head taking her out of reality for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Castle advancing on Vulcan, feels the need to warn him before he ends up on the floor next to her, but her voice catches as her vision blurs more, fading in and out of darkness. Fighting it becomes too much for her, and she lets her world slip into black.

"You son of a bitch," Castle growls, consumed with anger as he continues his advance on Vulcan. "You like to make a habit out of abusing women, is that it? Think that makes you a big tough guy, huh? Or maybe you just don't have it in you to beat up on men?"

"Castle, that's enough!" Esposito calls out, shoving Vulcan back against the wall to cuff him as Ryan holds the writer back.

"I could take him," Castle mutters, shooting a death glare at Vulcan as Esposito leads him out of the interrogation room

"I'm not so sure about that," Ryan mumbles. But it goes unheard as they both turn to face Beckett at the sound of her groaning.

"Beckett!" Castle is by her side in an instant, as Ryan reaches into his pocket for his cell to call for an ambulance.

Castle sees the crimson staining the table and feels his chest constrict with panic. She's unconscious now as he pulls her limp form into his arms, searching for the source of the bleeding. His chest grows even tighter when he sees the blood darkening her hair.

"Kate? Kate, can you hear me? I need you to stay with me," he pleads, hands cradling her as his pulse pounds in his head. "Stay with me, Kate."

Ryan pokes his head back into the interrogation room. "Ambulance is on it's way. How's she doing?"

"She's unconscious," he says around the lump in his throat. "Her head is bleeding."

Every medical drama he's ever watched comes rushing back to him, panic flooding his system as he starts thinking about brain bleeds and paralysis.

"She's gonna be okay," Ryan tries to reassure him, clearly reading the expression all over his face, but Ryan looks worse for wear himself, eyes filled with worry.

He wants to believe that it will be fine. A minor cut, a mild concussion maybe, nothing serious. But his inherited flare for the dramatic from his mother plus his overactive imagination have him picturing the worst. His stomach lurches with the thought of what could happen, aches for her to be okay, to wake up so he can hold her in his arms when she isn't bleeding.

"Kate," Castle says softly when he's sure Ryan is back out of earshot. He likes the way her first name feels on his tongue. Likes how much softer and intimate it sounds compared to Beckett. "I need you to pull through this, okay? For me. And I'm sure this is nothing and you're just a little banged up right now, but we both know my imagination has a way of spinning things out of control. So just...be okay because I think I might be in love with you."

The paramedics burst through the room, and he swipes his eyes to rid the tears that have formed. His heart is about to burst, too many emotions in the span of minutes making his lungs rattle as he tries to suck in oxygen. They get her on the stretcher and he rushes his words out to explain what happened. He flinches when they pop her shoulder back in, but then they are off and he follows them out of the precinct and into the ambulance. He doesn't even hesitate to ride along with her, grasping her hand so tight, willing her to be okay. The paramedics don't seem to be in a huge panic though, carrying out the routine medical procedures, their faces calm and relaxed.

He deflates a little, runs his fingers over her uninjured arm, allowing his vulnerability to show while she can't see him. He told her he loved her, but who knows if she heard, let alone if she'll reciprocate. They would be great together he knows it. No other relationship he's had comes close to the magic of being with her, and he'd broken up with Gina because of this reason.

Castle shakes his head, squeezes Kate's hand tighter, berating himself for his thought spiral when she's bleeding from her head in front of him. She's pale, her face slack, and he aches to be closer, to hold her and run his fingers through her hair.

"Cassle," she slurs, and he darts his eyes to hers, heart pounding on his ribcage.

"Kate, hey. You okay?" he soothes, gripping her hand, but she doesn't reply anything more than a groan. He takes that as a good sign, she's becoming conscious, remembers his name, and can still talk. He plans to say more to her, but they arrive at the hospital and she's dragged off to a room while he's left with the paperwork.

Kate wakes, her head heavy and sluggish, faint throbs of pain pulsing in her head and her arm. She feels sick, lethargic, her mouth dry and sticky, needing water. Blinking her eyes open she surveys the room, realizes she's in a hospital bed, her arm in a sling. She groans, annoyed at herself for needing medical care, even though it was Vulcan's fault.

"Kate?" she hears, and turns her head to the sound, finding Castle in the chair next to the bed, his lips turning up as he studies her face.

I think I might be in love with you

Had she actually heard that or just imagined it? No, no, she definitely heard it, swimming in and out of consciousness at the precinct, his pleading words making their way into her brain. She can't help the faint smile that blooms, she's a bit of a mess at the moment, but knowing and having confirmation of how he feels, has pleasure zipping through her veins.

She tries to sit up, but her head pounds and pain overtakes the happiness, her eyes losing focus for a second. Castle stands up in an instant, guiding her to lay back down, scolding her as he runs his hand over her forehead, her neck, her skin prickling with his touch. He was worried about her, clearly, it's making him handsy, though she can't find the energy to care.

"How long was I out?"

"Not that long, only about an hour," he replies, filling up a cup of water for her to sip. "I kinda freaked out, Beckett, thought you might be dying." He laughs, but she can see the worry and concern in his eyes, and she scrambles for his hand, needing to comfort him like he has done for her.

"Well, I'm glad I'm not dead."

"Me too. Please never get shot or anything okay? I don't think I could handle it."

She squeezes his hand, runs her thumb over it, avoiding eye contact because she can't make that promise. "The doctor says you most likely have a concussion though," he continues. "You'll need monitoring and someone to change your dressing for a couple of days."

She darts her eyes up. Oh no.

"Castle, what are you saying?" she warns, her brow creasing and eyes narrowing at him.

"I may have already volunteered for you to stay with me," he says, guilt tracing his words, but his eyes are alight, excited at the prospect of her staying with him. "Think about it. Your dad and Lanie have to work, I can be there all the time in case you collapse or something."

She pouts. He has a point.

"Fine. But there will be strict rules about how much hovering you're allowed to do."

He gives her an enthusiastic nod, his eyes crinkling as he grins at her. "But really though, I'm just glad you're okay. It's not every day that you pass out on me."

"Well I tend not to let suspects get the upper hand in the interrogation room either."

"You say that like this has happened before."

Beckett smirks at him in response, glancing out towards the hallway. "So are they planning to keep me overnight before sending me home with you?"

She swears she catches him blushing at her words, further confirmation for what she thinks she heard earlier. But he shakes it off and nods.

"It was either that or I would be the one responsible for waking you up every few hours to make sure the concussion hasn't progressed and that you can actually wake up. I decided I would rather have you be mad at the night staff instead of me," he says, lifting his shoulders in silent apology. "But I'll be back in the morning to break you out of here. Oh and Montgomery insisted that I tell you to take a couple of days off. Don't shoot the messenger, but you're stuck with me."

"Don't worry, Castle. I could think of worse people to be stuck with."

Oh yeah, she definitely catches the reddening of his cheeks this time.

Beckett sinks down onto Castle's couch, her overnight bag landing with a small thud at her feet, relaxing into the cushions with a sigh. She's not quite as coordinated with only one good, working arm. At least it's only a sprain and nothing is actually broken, but the dashes of pain that shoot through her when she moves make everything extra inconvenient.

"You seem lost," she calls over her shoulder at Castle who's mindlessly staring at one of his kitchen cupboards.

"I was going to make you coffee, but the doctor suggested that you stay away from caffeine for a few days. So I'm trying to figure out if I have decaf."

She feels herself smirking at him again. "Don't worry about it, Castle, I'm fine."

He brings over a glass of water for her anyway before joining her on the couch, and she bounces from his weight as he sits down. He's closer than what would normally be appropriate, heat radiating from his thigh where it grazes hers. His hovering hasn't become overwhelming, but the amount of thought and care he is giving is making her heart flip.

"So, what do you say to a little movie marathon?" he asks, picking up the remote and wiggling his eyebrows.

She wants to ask him about it, needs to ask him about it. She didn't really need the nurses constantly checking up on her last night, when the thought of him loving her kept her from sleep. A part of her almost wonders how long she can ignore it. If she never brings it up, will he try to tell her again? Or will he just keep on acting like it never happened?

But she might feel the same way.

She thinks.

Maybe.

What she does know is that there's something between them. And she may not be ready to classify it as love yet, but she knows that she cares about him. Knows that she wants to see what they'd be like as more than partners. See where...whatever this is goes.

It's now or never, Kate.

"That sounds great," she smiles. "But can I ask you something first?"

He reclines back on the couch, making himself comfortable, and she finds herself distracted by his biceps for a moment. "Sure, go ahead."

She takes a deep breath to focus, calm the nerves that are fluttering, knowing that the moment she puts this out there, everything is going to change. Although technically, he brought it up first.

"You think you're in love with me?"

The question hangs in the air for a moment as he grows still beside her, his expression unreadable. The room gets so quiet she can hear her own pulse thundering in her ears. This can't be good. Maybe she misunderstood him -

"Castle, I-" she starts, trying to salvage the damage she may have just created, her stomach twisting as she speaks.

"You can hear people talking when you're unconscious?" Castle cuts her off. "Can everyone do that or do you have a super power?"

She bites down on her lower lip. "I was in and out of it, I guess." She glances down at her lap, before drawing her gaze up to meet his. "So I heard you correctly then? You said that to me?"

He nods slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Did you mean it?" Beckett asks, shifting closer to him without realizing that she's doing it.

"Every word."

Now she's the one blushing. "Wh - how?" she stammers.

Castle laughs at that, shaking his head, and she can't help the quirk of her lips. "How did I manage to fall in love with you?"

"Okay well, when you put it like that -"

"You are the most remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating person I've ever met. And the thought of the possibility of losing you...it terrified me. I want you in my life, Kate. I can't imagine not having you around anymore."

"And you love me," she finishes, staring back at him with wide eyes, her heart in her throat, almost shaking with the precipice of what is happening.

He smiles at her. "Yeah. Is that okay with you?"

She can hear her pulse thundering again as he waits for her to reply. She needs to answer him. Say something. Anything.

"Beckett?"

She can't find the words, so she does the next best thing she can think of. She kisses him. The gesture startles him at first, but it doesn't take him long to thread his fingers through her hair and pull her in closer. He tastes of coffee and she decides that if she can't have it right now, he's the next best thing. Then he sucks on her bottom lip which makes her moan into his mouth and she decides that he's better than coffee. Much better.

Castle pulls away, catching his breath, as she does the same, but he keeps her close with a hand on the back of her neck, maddening as he swirls his fingers at the skin there.

"I'll take that as a yes," he chuckles.

"Oh. That's the word I was looking for. See now this is why you're the writer."

He shrugs, his thumb sweeping across her cheek, and a wide smile blossoms across her face. "I don't know. I think I liked your response better."

She smiles, ducking her head so it bumps into his. "I guess Vulcan managed to do one thing right: he brought us together."

A/N: For Raina, we love you lots, and this is a thank you gift for being a wonderful friend, amazing writer, and generally a lovely person. We hope you like it :) love Emily and Alex