Beckett's phone rang and she answered it without even looking at the ID of who was calling, because she knew it was Castle.

"Tell me you need me" he said…

Her mind went into overdrive trying to figure out exactly what he had meant. She countered with "excuse me"

Castle told her of his current predicament with his mother at the bank and wanted to know if there were any body drops he could help her with.

She came back with "there are no dead bodies, just a pile of paperwork and you are welcomed to do your share." she said to him and wondered to herself why he was always ready to find justice for a heinous crime but became scarce when there was paperwork to be done to close the case.

Just as he decided that listening to his mother argue with the bank manager was a lost cause he moved out to the lobby of the bank and leaned against the kiosk that housed the deposit & withdrawal slips.

Looking towards the front door he noticed that a man standing at the opposite kiosk and then a woman enter the bank and they both had suspicious bulges under their coats. Beckett was still waiting for him to continue their conversation when he said "Hmmm" Castle says. "I think this bank is going to be robbed"

"What" Beckett replies."I think this bank is going to be robbed"

"I think this bank is about to be robbed"

Beckett dismissed his comment and said "Really, are you that bored?"

Castle moves away from the kiosk to get a better vantage point. He describes what he sees to Beckett.

"Castle, I think your writer's imagination is getting away with you"

Just then there was a loud sound coming from the front door and the order was shouted out "everybody get down on the floor" Castle looked to see where his mom was and realized that she was safe for the time being, the robbers corralled everyone in the bank and with the exception of the bank manager. Martha and himself who were still in the manager's office. Castle then told Beckett that this was not his imagination working in overdrive. Kate's heart sunk.

Kate asked what was going on and he gave her his location "I am at New Amsterdam Bank and Trust on Lex." Beckett looked to Javi and Kevin and asked them to report to dispatch that there was a 10-30 in progress, Kevin said "a 10-30 since when are handling bank robbery calls?"

Kate looked at them both and said "Castle's there"

Kate went into detective mode and started to pump Castle for any information he could give her.

He told her that there were 3 of them and that they were way too efficient to be just dime store bank robbers. Then he heard the hammer of a gun being cocked behind his head and told her that there were 4.

The standoff continued Beckett had an in with one of the robbers named Trapper John, she talked to him on Castles phone and it was clear that he was the leader.

She made the comment that since no one was hurt, and nothing was stolen yet this would just be a blurb in the metro section if he left the same way he came in it would end.

He stated "you got to promise not to come look for me?"

Kate was furious and told him "I don't look, I hunt, and trust me you don't want that" She continued "So leave now and this will just be a quirky little article in the metro section"

Castle looked to his captor and he told Kate, "Sorry sweetheart I'd rather make the front page" With that said he threw Castle's phone to the floor and crushed it under his foot destroying the phone while all the time he had a Smith & Wesson SW1911 pointed at Castle.

Having Martha, Castle, and the bank manager now get up and move to the other hostages he took the master safety deposit box key from the bank manager's neck and turned to the task at hand.

Trapper John heard the sirens in the distance and informed that the other robbers that they would have company very soon. They were trained for just this contingent.

Just then Castle reached for Martha's hand giving her a look of security.

Swat teams took up position around the perimeter of the bank, Kate decided that her knowledge was more useful at the scene. Upon entering the command post she announced herself to the ranking officer. His name was Captain Peterson. He looked like a no-nonsense type of man. When Kate had told him that her partner was on the inside he almost fell over "you mean to tell me that we have a cop inside the bank?"

Kate clarified to him what her partner actually was "Sir he is a civilian investigator"

She gave him a rundown of all she knew and told him exactly what Castle told her. He took the information and thanked her and told her to leave his command post.

Ryan and Espo were waiting outside the command post and asked Beckett what was going on. She explained to them that their services were not needed.

Beckett had a disgusted look on her face and could not believe that she could actually contribute something to this standoff but Captain Peterson dismissed her. So with this in her mind, she briefly thought about Castle and what he must be thinking right now. She told Espo and Ryan to look over other possible MO's that fit what was going on here. With that, they left hoping that they could help. Kate was beside herself, she did not want anything to happen to Castle. This would really put her at a disadvantage because little did he know, she had fallen for him, not just as partners but she actually opened up her heart to the possibility that she could love him the way he deserved. She was sure of this so, getting him out of this alive was her top priority.

Captain Peterson's aide walked out of the command post and was about to call Beckett's name but hesitated a second when he saw Espo and Ryan make a beeline for their Crown Vic.

"What was that about" as he walked over to Kate. She told him that there were a couple of things that she wanted her team to check out. He looked back to the command post and then told her that Captain Peterson wanted to see her.

Walking back into the command post after having been so rudely kicked out she opened her mouth to ask what he wanted but before she could say one syllable and Peterson laid into her, "What the hell were you thinking?" Kate looked at him a little hurt all she really wanted to do was end this standoff

"I was just trying to help out sir"

"What by charming the bank robber?

Kate is flabbergasted and replies "What"?

Peterson continues with "we get him on the horn and before I can get two words out he says that he will only talk to the lady cop, the one with the bedroom voice" Kate is now really confused, and tells Peterson that she is not the right person for this job. He denies her statement and tells her that she is in. He tells her to do exactly the opposite of her homicide training tells her, it's not about finding the next clue. But rather keeping the situation calm. The phone rings and it's patched through to Kate while Peterson listens in,

"Hi, this is Detective Beckett I understand that you wanted to speak with me?"

Kate asks him his name and he comes back with Trapper John.

Beckett quickly associates him with the show M*A*S*H and asks if he is a M*A*S*H fan. She asks him if there is anything she can do for him and he reads her like a book and tells her that he knows she is reading a page right out of Captain Confidence's play book. She knows that there is a pregnant bank teller and needs to get the status on her health. Trapper John will not hear any of what she is saying to him, and this frustrates her. So instead he tells her how it is.

"Kate, if you lie to me, I kill hostages, if you jerk me around, I kill hostages, if you storm the bank I will kill hostages….and Kate I'll start with your boyfriend first."

The line goes dead and Kate's heart sinks so far into her gut that she can't believe what she just heard. The fact that Trapper John could even consider harming anyone in the bank puts her on the defensive.

The scene outside the bank has changed, people vying to get a picture on their cell phones, some waiting for any news about loved ones inside, but the police have set up barricades 150 feet from the bank entrance and made bystanders move beyond the barriers. Kate gets a pep talk from Peterson telling her that moving forward in a situation like this may not be the wisest move to make sometimes doing nothing at all is the best plan. Kate rests her head on her hands and wonders what Castle is doing at this very moment.

Meanwhile, inside the bank the gears in Castle's mind are turning. All the hostages sit in a circle and he asks "Is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt? They all nod to the positive and he is relieved. Then a man named Sal Martino blames Castle for bringing the police to the bank so early.

Simone the bank teller tells Sal "The robbers brought this on themselves because they pulled the pulled the bottom bills from the cash drawer thus setting off the silent alarm" The bank manager agrees and says "It's no one's fault"

Everyone is on edge considering what could happen and before things get totally out of hand Castle calms them down and asks Dr. Howser if they could arrange bathroom runs. He is already thinking about the way he can gather information. After all the hostages go the restroom, they compare notes and come up with two facts, the robbers are forgetting about all the cash that's lying in the unopened vault, and Trapper John is spending an awful amount of time in the safe deposit box area. Asking the bank manager if he can tell him the number of a specific box by its location. The manager says sure. Castle gives him the row and column location and he says it's Safe Deposit Box 120.

Kate decided to get a breath of fresh air and headed outside. Stepping onto the sidewalk she noticed Espo walking up to her. She walked over to him and asked him what he found out. Her first question was about the bank cameras, he said "They were all disabled" She then asked what the probability was if CSU went in blind and stormed the bank?

He looked away and right then and there she knew the result would be very, very bad for the hostages. Feeling defeated Kate walked back to the command post and just as she sat down then the phone rang. She strapped the headset to her head and started talking to Trapper John. He was in no mood for being strung along and made a demand for a bus with tinted windows and a jet fueled up and ready to fly at Teterboro airport to bring them to a non-extradition country of their choosing. And only at this time would they consider releasing Simone the expectant bank teller. After completing his demands he gave Kate only 3 hours to make it happen.

She was stunned when Peterson demanded to his aide to get all the things Trapper John had requested. Kate looked at him like he was a nut! But there was a method to his madness, he figured that the bus would be a way to lure them out and take them out before they had a chance to know what had hit them.

Peterson's aide called Beckett and Peterson to check out something odd he was seeing on the monitor. Both walking over and looking at the flashes of light bouncing off the ceiling neither could understand what they were seeing. Then it hit Kate "Morse Code" she said. It was Castle always trying to find a way to get her some much needed information. She was always amazed at how he could make something out of nothing. They decoded the message and it was for safe deposit box 120 owned by a couple named Agnes and Gideon Fields.

Meanwhile, Sal had just returned back from another bathroom run and he told Castle what he had noticed on the way back. "I think they were white bricks and there were detonators lying nearby, I think it could be C-4. Martha and Castle looked like they just had seen a ghost, their faces were so white. This was not a good thing and Castle took inventory of the hostages and thought if he could protect at least half of them he did his best knowing keeping some of them alive was worth the risk.

Ryan and Espo arrived at the apartment of Agnes Fields and announced themselves as NYPD officers. There was only silence. Yelling again they only heard the faint sounds on a radio playing in the background. Looking at each other the choice was a clear one. They both raised their legs and busted down the door. After gaining entry to the apartment the stench of death was over powering. Kevin needed to cover his nose to stop the smells attacking his nose. In the meantime, Javi was hitting the speed dial on his phone to reach Kate.

Answering her phone Kate asked what was going on Javi replied and informed that Agnes Fields was dead. Her key for the safe deposit box had been ripped from her neck and it looks like she was murdered about a week ago….strangled. Looking around, Ryan noticed a broken lamp by his feet and looked down, something with a black finish caught his eye. He knelt down and retrieved the item and he said, "Hey check this out" Beckett was still on speaker and asked "what is it" Ryan replied "it's a bug, and not from a spy shop either this one looks professional". After hearing this Kate turned looking away from the bank and she almost stopped what she was saying when she saw Alexis walking towards her. Still on the phone she told the boys to get everything they could on Agnes Fields. Hanging up the phone Alexis started with nonstop questions "there in there aren't they, my dad and Grams? I know that they were coming down here and now neither of them are answering their cell phones and dad always takes calls and now you are here" Kate sees the terror of the situation in her eyes and reassures her. "Alexis everything will be fine, but they are inside that bank."

Seeing that Simone is starting to get uncomfortable sitting on the hard floor he stands up and asks Dr. Quinn if he can provide her with some couch cushions all the time her uzi was pointed at him ready to fire but after thinking about it she agrees with Castle. He moves over to the couch and from behind he hears what sounds like someone struggling to breathe. He spins and around and sees Sal getting up but he is acting odd like he is a puppet and as Castle thinks this, Sal's body stiffens up and he falls back to the floor. Rick runs over to Sal's side and assesses his condition. Noticing a medical alert bracelet on his left wrist he reads that Sal has epilepsy. Dr. Quinn tells Dr. Howser to advise Trapper John about the situation and he does so, in the meantime Dr. Quinn tells Castle to help him and Castle has no idea about what to do. He is in over his head with Sal and tells her "Well Dr. Quinn unless you are really a medicine woman, this man needs a real hospital."

Outside the bank Kate and Alexis are talking "What am I supposed to do?" "Do you understand they're all I've got" Kate tries to reassure her telling her that they are doing everything humanly possible to get them out safely but Alexis hears none of this she has gone into protective mode and can't believe this is happening. Again Alexis says "They're all I've got I can't believe that this is happening" Kate wants to say something to her but she is not sure if she should say it. She decides to anyway " Alexis I promise you that they are going to be okay" This snaps Alexis out of her haze and tells Kate "they better be" Kate looks at her in shock and now she wishes that she never made this promise. Alexis did not mean to sound so ungrateful when she said her words, but Kate really needed to know how she felt. Pulling out her cell phone she calls Ashley and thinking he actually answers starts to talk, but then realizing that it's his voice mail she waits for his greeting to finish. She tells him about the current situation with her dad and grams and then asks him to call her back as soon as he can because she needs his support. Hanging up the phone she thinks that he has been so distant recently and wonders if a long distance relationship is really worth it. Peterson's aide tells Kate that there is an incoming call and rushes back to the command post. Picking up the phone she gets an earful from Trapper John telling her that there is a medical emergency with one of the hostages and he needs help fast.

Looking to Peterson after hearing what they both heard he decides that sending in a tactical team under the guise of retrieving the sick hostage will be their best option. Kate counters him with the following idea, "what if we send a cop with tactical training to locate the robbers and bring that intel back to make a sound plan of attack?"

Peterson asks her "do you have a cop in mind?" knowing that this intel will be the hostages only hope she volunteers herself. Peterson agrees. Getting dressed into a borrowed FDNY Paramedic's uniform Kate is ready. She pushes the gurney to the front door of the bank and the door suddenly opens. Upon entering the lobby she is already making mental notes of what is going on around her until she sees his beautiful blue eyes looking up to her. He is taken aback a bit but then realizes that she has a mission to complete. Having her there he quickly grabs a deposit slip and writes something on the back of it.

She kneels down to Sal's side and asks him about his condition he tells her that is does not look good. They get him ready to lift onto the gurney and place him there gently. Realizing that Beckett is strapping him to the gurney this is the time to slip her his note. She takes it from him and wheels Sal out of the bank lobby. She turns once more to look back at him and he sees the gentleness of her face, something he will never forget because he has fallen in love with this woman he can't imagine living another day without her knowing this and when he gets out of this current situation he will tell her how madly in love he is with her. Handing him off to the real paramedics she unfolds the note and can't believe what she sees. C-4 was the only thing he wrote on the note. Her mind now fearing the worst case scenario, she reports back to Captain Peterson, but before she does this she notices Alexis too close to the bank and tells her to move beyond the official police barricade. Her safety is at risk now too. Ashley calls her back and he is in a rush and as soon as she tries to get a word in the line goes dead. So much for his support she thinks. Beckett advises Peterson that there is C-4 in the bank so he rules out a tactical breech.

The phone rings and its Trapper John. He is now furious about why his bus is not in front of the bank. Kate tells him that it's stuck in traffic and will arrive in about 20 minutes. He will hear none of her excuses and he tells her that if the bus is not outside now he will start killing hostages, he lived up to his end of the deal and so should she. Getting more frustrated he raises his weapon and fires in the general direction of Castle and Martha. Kate hears the shot and almost drops the phone. "What was that?" she asks, he replies "That was just a warning shot the next will be for the kill. Kate is showing no mercy and lets loose into the speaker of the phone "Listen jackass I don't control traffic you're going to give me 20 minutes because if you don't I will personally walk through those doors and put a bullet in your skull." Trapper John thinks about it and then agrees and gives Kate 20 more minutes. Peterson is at a loss for words but comes up with "well that's one way to negotiate".

Back inside the bank Trapper John tells Castle "Your girlfriend is a hellcat" Rick tells him "well she's not my girlfriend" He does not know what made him say that it could have been that he just wanted to jump right over the dating phase and go straight to proposing to her, he misses her and really wants to be out of this situation. Just then a cell phone rings and Dr. Huxtable answers. Trapper John looks back at Castle and he starts to put the clues together but he wants to know what he will do with the hostages he tells him that he should not worry about them but he will kill him last. At that statement Martha whimpers and covers her mouth in fear. Dr. Huxtable gets Trapper Johns attention and lets him know that they were "good to go". Asking all the hostages to get up they are all moved to the counting room near the vault. It is not actually in the vault but it is a small room off to the side of it. It has bars just like a jail cell and the robbers use this to their advantage. Making sure everyone is now secure in the counting room they get started on the last phase of their plan….getting away from the police.

Kate sat on the edge of the desk while Peterson made plans for the tactical breech. She kept wondering why Trapper John hadn't asked something from her in return for the additional 20 minutes. Peterson looked at her and asked what was wrong and she made her thoughts known. Peterson said not to worry about and take this as a win. It still nagged at her. All the hostages now had their hands bound with zip ties. Martha leaned her head on Castle's shoulder and apologized to her son for dragging him with her to the bank. "It's okay mother don't worry, I love you"

Beckett's cell started to ring, fishing it out of her uniform pocket she slid the button to answer it. "Beckett" Espo started telling her about everything that they found out about Agnes Fields. The news was not what she was hoping for and this seemed to set them back two steps rather than moving forward. Just then while Kate started to ask Espo if there was any way they could get In touch with Agnes' son-in-law Ron Brandt, as she nearly completed her sentence a massive explosion rocked the command post. Kate made her way out of the command post and was met with concrete dust and debris everywhere. It was hard to breathe but all she could think about was Castle and if he was okay…

A/N: This first chapter follows cannon for the episode 4x07 "Cops and Robbers." It is probably one of my favorite episodes. Please beware there will be character deaths in the upcoming chapters and Alexis makes some decisions that she would not normally make on the show. I was hesitant about re-posting this story because of all the negative reviews it received the first time around. This is fiction and my story is just a product of my imagination. Please read and review, thanks.

P2P