A/N: Just a one shot based on Kate's promise that she'd break him out of prison, and the meaning behind it.

Title: Ask Me How Much I Love You (Prologue)

Disclaimer: Sadly the amazing show that is Castle does not belong to me, nor does Natan Fillion (as amazing as he his)!

Spoilers: A play on spoilers from Anatomy of a Murder. Kate tells Castle that she would break him out of prison. Castle sees this as a sign of Love.

Rating: T (just to be on the safe side)

Never, after Kate told him that she would get him out of prison, did Castle ever think that he would have to enlist her help in such a way. But as he stood behind the defense's table in the courtroom, listening to the jury read their verdict, convicting him of murder, he wondered if that offer was still good. He could only listen numbly as the 1st chair of the jury read the verdict.

"We the jury find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree," the voice droned on in the background. He listened as they added a couple of other charges to the one that would put him in prison for the rest of his life. Castle suddenly struggled to breathe, his eyes closing in a self resigned defeat. The District attorney hadn't even offered him a deal, although, even if they had, he wouldn't have taken it. Because he was innocent and agreeing to a deal would have implied he was guilty. Silently, Castle wondered how things had gone so terribly wrong, and how an attempt to find his father would cost him the rest of his life. He swallowed as the judge thanked the jury and dismissed those in the courtroom, temporarily adjourning until sentencing. With a look down at the silver cuffs, marking his wrists, he wondered what life would be like in prison. He wondered if he even stood a chance in prison. He could expect that those already inside would rip a celebrity like him limb from limb.

"Dad!" Alexis screamed from behind him, causing the muscles in his back and shoulders to tighten uncomfortably as they tried to guard him from the pain that her sweet innocent voice evoked. It was as if his heart, his soul, was being ripped into a thousand pieces. As much as he tried not to feel pain, he felt he deserved it for his foolishness. It took every bit of his self-control not to turn around. He imagined the look on her face as she screamed his name a second and a third time.

Instead, he caught the eye of his defense attorney who looked nothing short of shocked, "Rick," he whispered quietly, "It's going to be alright. With connections like you have, we'll push through an appeal in no time."

"I'm afraid connections aren't going to do me any good," Castle spoke back, trying not to be heard, "They have enough evidence to keep convicting me, Cal. It doesn't matter if I was framed. No matter how many times you try the case, I'm going to look guilty." The man looked at Castle sympathetically. "For god's sakes," Castle breathed, "I mean…I kill people for a living. They probably just think that I ran out of ways to do it in ink, and that I took to the real thing…"

"Hey," the man's voice was brusque, "You do yourself a favor and keep ideas like that to yourself." The man looked into Castle's eyes as he promised, "I will get you out of this, Castle. The whole 12th knows your innocent. We're going to get the real bastard who killed your father and straighten this whole thing out."

"Time to go," one of the court marshall's spoke as he grabbed Castle by the upper arm.

Castle felt a tug on his shoulder as the court marshal tugged him in the direction of the door. The silence ripped into him with every step that he took. He berated himself for being so foolish, and for getting so involved. He kept thinking in terms of what if. What if he had heeded Kate's initial warning? What if he had stayed away from the victim? As he let his mind slip to other places, he made a rookie mistake. He let his eyes gravitate to where he had been avoiding all along, only to find two smoky green eyes boring into his. The air left his lungs as Kate Beckett of the NYPD stared back at him. Her eyes were asking him a million questions, and he wanted to answer, but knew he couldn't. It was painful when he finally tore his eyes away from hers, before letting himself be pushed through the door.

For Kate, the reality hit her like a ton of bricks. She couldn't believe that they had convicted him. What she had seen over the course of this investigation had caused her to lose faith in the NYPD. She didn't trust them. Her gut told her of Castle's innocence. And she knew that all of the evidence they had gathered was condemning, that they actually had Castle placed at the crime scene...but there were things to be said. And those in charge of prosecuting Castle's case wouldn't listen. She wondered if someone was gunning for him. Perhaps someone much higher up than their captain, and she wanted to know who. Because she knew, that that was where the real corruption lies.

With a squeeze to her shoulder, Kate was brought back to the present. She turned slowly to see Ryan and Esposito staring at her. She nodded, assuring them that she was okay, before she followed them out of the courtroom. Their walk to the car was made in silence, and for a while, Kate kept it together. She tried to keep her thoughts away from where they threatened to flock. The ones that involved doing something she knew was wrong. Something that she knew very well could cost her her job as a detective, or her life. But she couldn't keep them away.

She slipped into the passenger seat, letting Esposito take point. Ryan slipped into the back, looking around. Kate stared out the window, watching as the American flag billowed in the wind. She couldn't help the bitterness that crept into her heart as she watched the stars and stripes blow and back and forth in the wind. She could only scoff at the symbol that stood for freedom and justice. So much for justice, she thought. What kind of world do we really live in? She was surprised when she got a reply.

"Who knows?" Esposito shrugged. She noticed the unease in his expression as he ventured into the busy street traffic.

"Did I really just say that aloud?" Kate asked, shifting in her seat. She received a nod in the affirmative.

"Man, I really can't believe that they convicted him…" Esposito continued angrily, his eyes glaring straight ahead, "That is just so…so…"

"Wrong?" Kate finished for him, knowing his difficulty. Unfortunately, wrong didn't even begin to cover it. Not when the prosecution is pushing for the longest sentence possible. Not when they were alluding to the fact that Castle might have killed before. It made Kate sick, listening to the "People's representative" speak. The reason for such a high profile case, of course, is the matter of the high profile victim. Perhaps I should have mentioned earlier that the victim in question was a U.S. senator, Castle's biological father.

The miserable way Castle had learned of his father's identity was scarring enough in itself. Along with the notion that Castle had lost his father before he ever got to know the man, it was sickening. But to go down for his murder…to be convicted of it was just implausible.

"All they see is a closed case file," Ryan spoke allowed, "It's obvious that they want him to go down for it whether he did it or not. And frankly, I'm worried that they'll do anything it takes to put him away for the rest of his life. Forget about the fact we don't have the death penalty, the second he's released into the general population they're going to rip him apart. They might even kill him if they have the chance." Kate flinched at the thought. She didn't want to think about all of the people they'd put away that would love to get a little revenge. She'd once told Lockwood that she had a lot of people on the inside who had grown quite fond of her, but that was only a half truth. She'd purposely omitted the fact that there were a lot of people on the inside who despised her a surely as Lockwood had. The fact that she knew there were people on the inside that could kill Castle without so much as a single thought was already killing her inside. She couldn't forgive the system for putting away someone completely innocent, and someone she deeply cared about. The man was brilliant. Okay, so he might have the emotional capacity of a twelve year old boy, but so what? He had a family. He was a valuable asset to society. Hell, he had already put away dozens of actual killers. And more importantly, Kate would not admit this to anyone, but she loved him. The true kind. Not the cheesy, happily ever after, then it falls apart after two years kind, but actual true love.

"So what do we do?" the words were out of Kate's lips before she could hold them back. She looked to Esposito first, and then Ryan, sizing them up for ability. Esposito let out a laugh and shook his head.

"Hell no," he said aloud. "I know what you're thinking and I'm not doing it." Kate's expression was unreadable as she continued to stare into Esposito's eyes. "Do you have any idea what the ramifications of doing something like that would be?" he asked. "Shit, boss. We're talking about aiding and abetting a fugitive here."

"You're right," Kate sighed, running a hand over her face. She turned in her street and stared straight ahead at the traffic in front of her. "It's downright stupid. And frankly, it's against everything we stand for as detectives and officers of the law."

"But?" Esposito quirked a brow, looking over to a woman he trusted with his life. He could see the wheels turning in her head.

"Do you feel good about what happened in that court room?" Kate asked, "You saw it. Both of you! They're ready to put him away, Esposito, for a crime we all know he didn't commit. They're just going to put him in there, and throw away the key. Someone has to step in…someone has to help him." Her voice was strained. "Have you really forgotten all he's done for us?"

"Of course not," Esposito replied indignantly. "But it's not our place. You said someone has to step in…let it be someone else, Kate. Someone whose responsibility it is to put things right."

"And you don't think we share that same responsibility?" Kate asked harshly. She could understand Esposito's reaction. She really could, but she knew how he truly felt.

"You're really killing me, Kate," Esposito grumbled. "You already got a plan or something?" There it was. The interest she knew Esposito had. She saw this in Kevin too as he leant forward in his seat so that his head poked into the front seat.

"No," she admitted, "But I do know that we have to do it before sentencing. Which means that if we go through with this that we've got 48 hours max."

"Shit," Kevin swore as he looked as his watch. "There's no way we're going to be able to put together a plan and execute it in 48 hours."

"Ye of little faith," Kate smirked, "You seem to be forgetting something, Ryan."

"And what's that?" he asked cheekily.

"That we're some of New York City's finest detectives," Kate boasted, "If anyone can pull it off, I bet we can."

"Okay," Kevin relented, "So where do we start?"

"First," Kate breathed as she pulled out her notepad and a pen, "We need a secluded place to hold him. We also need an untraceable bank account, an unmarked car, some intimidating looking weapons. A black pillow case, ductape and…."

"Okay," Esposito held up his hand, "Stop right there. Duct tape?"

"We're going to orchestrate the whole thing," Kate smiled, "Come on. It'll be fun." She looked at Ryan. "Can't you see the look on Castle's face when he catches on as to what is really going on?"

"Wait a minute…" Esposito said again. "So you think that the FBI or whoever is going to buy our little act? Let's be realistic, Katie. The feds eat futile attempts like the one your proposing for breakfast."

"It'll go deeper than what I'm talking about, guys," Kate said softly, "What…so you don't trust me?"

"I do," Ryan replied quickly, "It's just that, Sito is right. We're in the middle of NYC. There's no way we'll ever get out of the city without notice."

"Good point," Kate sighed, "If we're really going to pull this off we need a minimum of three cars, all located at strategic points throughout the city."

"You're not going to give this up, are you?" Esposito asked seriously, as they arrived back at the precinct.

"No," Kate replied honestly. "And whether you're behind me or not. I'm going to do it." She said the next part determinedly, "I told him I'd get him out and I will." Ryan looked at her slack jawed. "I guess I just needed to know where you guys stood…is all." She smiled. "And now I know." She let out a deep breath as she got out of the car, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets. "I would appreciate one thing though…"

"And what's that?" Kevin asked aloud, walking so that he was right next to her as she shut the door.

"If someone comes poking around," Kate whispered, "Stall them for me? All I will need is a few hours."

Kate jumped as she felt Esposito's hand on her shoulder. He gave it a squeeze.

"Oh hell no," Esposito breathed, "We're in."

"What?" Kate nearly choked with surprise.

"Come on, Kate," Ryan smiled, "You really think we're that heartless?"

"Castle is our bro," Esposito elaborated, "There's no way we're letting him go down like this." He looked to Ryan. "We've been working on his escape plan for days." The detective winced as Kate slugged him in the arm.

"Like I'd trust anything you guys come up with," Kate rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go. If we can hash out an impossible murder then we can certainly pull this off."

"Too bad Castle isn't here," Ryan sighed whimsically, "He would be really good with the orchestration part." Kate smiled, hooking arm in arm with her two favorite people in the world. Two people that she knew wouldn't let her down. "Guess we'll have to honor him well, huh guys?"

Castle sat shackled in the back seat of a reinforced vehicle on his way to sentencing two days later. He hadn't spoken a word to the marshals who rode in the back with him since they departed from the holding cell he had been kept in. The vehicle rocked back and forth in gentle, mind numbing movements. It was almost enough to put him to sleep.

He could feel his heart racing, though he wasn't sure why. All of the things that had been said between him and Kate seemed to race through his head, effectively torturing him. He loved her, and now he'd never get the chance to tell her. If he was lucky, he would be rotting away in prison the rest of his life. And that was if he was lucky. He felt the metal painfully digging into his wrists as she sat chained to the bench in the back of the bus. He looked over at the marshall sitting across from him. The man looked at him coldly as if he were repulsed by him. Castle looked away with a deep sigh. He squeezed his eyes shut, and willed the powers that be to let him be anywhere else. Unfortunately, when he opened them found himself stuck in the middle of the same nightmare.

Castle's head shot up from where it had been staring at the floor as a loud bang thundered outside.

"What the hell was that?" one of the marshall's asked in the back, pulling his police issue radio from his hip.

Before he knew it, the unthinkable was happening. Another explosion went off in the road, this time the sound was unmistakable. Before the marshalls could even react, the vehicle swayed back in forth, the force pushing their bodies into the unforgiving metal sides. Suddenly the marshals were screaming. In a violent jerking motion, two wheels were lifted from the pavement and it was tipping on its side. Castle braced himself as best as he possibly could as the wall behind him tipped downwards. For a few moments, he clenched his eyes shut at the noise of the groaning metal. He groaned as his back and his head were thrown unforgivingly against the side. He could hear the metal sliding over the pavement below, and could feel the heat of the friction, in the temperature of the metal at his back. And finally with a big lurch, the vehicle came to a halt and Castle lay still on the floor.

Castle heard sirens from somewhere in the distance as he struggled to a sitting position. He felt the pain reverberating from all over his own body, and did his best to use the shock that he was feeling to his advantage. Needless to say, Castle's adrenaline was pumping. Castle looked slowly to the marshals in the back with him. They were still….too still. Castle swallowed, and grimaced at the iron taste in his mouth. It was almost enough to make him sick. Castle closed his eyes as fatigue took over and made it hard for him to move. He still jumped as the two back doors burst open with a big lurch. In the distance he heard someone scream. He blinked his eyes. Once. Twice. Three times. Convinced that what he was seeing was just a bad dream. A masked man jumped into the back with him, holding an AR-15 assault rifle. Castle just stared at the man, helplessly as blood worked its way down his face from a gruesome cut on his head. He knew something was wrong when the man just stared back at him.

"Who had the keys?" a distorted voice asked him as the person rushed forwards to check the motionless bodies in the back for the keys.

"The one on the left," Castle muttered, not really thinking about whose side this man was on. The second the words came from his mouth he immediately wished he had kept that bit of information to himself. Whoever it was who was in the back with him, probably was not on his side. The masked assailant nodded in thanks before they pulled the keys from the man's pocket. Castle swallowed, nearly choking over the obstruction in his throat.

"Hurry up in there!" another distorted voice yelled in from behind. Castle's stomach clenched and he winced in pain as the man walked over and began pulling on chains. Castle screamed as they tweaked his shoulder.

"Damn," the voice muttered as Castle began to struggle. "I'm really sorry about this man, but I need you to stay still." This made Castle put up a new fight, especially when Castle saw the person in front of him pull out a knife.

"Don't touch me!" Castle kicked at him, "Get the hell away from me. I'm going to prison. I'll take my chances there."

"Hell no," the man yelled back, "You're coming with us."

"You'll never get away with it," Castle argued, still fighting, "They're already on their way."

"Oh yes we will," the man assured him as he handled his gun quickly, bringing down the handle of the large rifle on Castle's head, effectively knocking him out. A second person jumped in.

"For god's sake," the voice seemed annoyed that it was taking so long, "What the hell is taking you so long?"

"Writer boy wouldn't shut up," he groaned, "now help me lift him out of here." The second masked individual slipped a bag over Castle's head and grabbed him under his shoulders. As Kate helped Esposito carry Castle to an unmarked black van, she couldn't help but think that Castle could stand to lose a few pounds. The third person in the front seat of the van, rushed out to open the door for them.

"Hostiles," he yelled, causing Kate to turn around. Sure enough, two officers were jumping out of a cruiser only 25 feet from them. Before they knew it, they were firing at them. Kate opened up in retaliation, trying to stall long enough for Esposito and Ryan to hop in the van. She did not hesitate because she knew the rubber bullets wouldn't do any serious damage to those that she hit. Upon Ryan's yell, she turned and jumped in the back. She winced as she felt a sting stick her in her midsection, just below where the vest left off. She swore as Esposito slammed the side door shut, and Ryan sped off.

"Shit," Kate whispered as she brought her hand up to her side and the glove came away with a red sticky substance. "Ochoa, I'm hit."

"What?," Ryan's panicked voice sounded from the front seat.

"Keep driving, Rales!" Kate yelled, "I'm fine." She could practically see Kevin's pouting eyes as he worried. "Don't mess things up now guys. We've got him! That's what matters."

"How bad is it?" Kate asked as Esposito finally freed her from the vest.

"Not bad," he breathed in relief as he applied pressure, "I think it just grazed you, there's no entry."

"Thank god," Kate whispered. "Getting shot was not in the plan."

"But we knew it was a possibility…a risk." Esposito said quietly. "It just means we'll have to be very careful. We'll have to wipe this down with bleach on account of the blood."

"Yeah," Kate groaned as he applied pressure. "Here," she winced, taking the cloth from Esposito and applying her own pressure to her wound, "Do we have gauze?"

"Yeah," Esposito said as he began to dig through their bag of emergency medical supplies. In the matter of a couple of minutes, Esposito had the wound clean and bandaged tightly. He was very mechanical in his ministrations, but Kate was quite impressed with his work as a medic. She winced as he checked the bandage again.

"I'm good. Go check on writer boy. Try and revive him if you can."

"I hit him pretty hard," Esposito winced as he scooted back into the back of the van and knelt over Castle. Carefully, ever so carefully, he pulled the veil from over Castle's eyes. He began trying to revive the man. "I think he's hurt."

"How bad?" Kate asked urgently.

"From the way his pupils are dilated," Esposito winced as he opened Castle's eyelids to judge the man's cognition, "I'd say he has a concussion. Maybe worse. He was chained in the bus, which means that he couldn't brace himself when it hit."

"Shit," Kate said, trying to stand up.

"Uh uh," Esposito turned and quickly shoved her back down. "You stay there."

"Shut up, Ochoa," Kate swatted his arm away, "I give the orders here." She stared down Esposito and he let her up, albeit reluctantly. She wriggled her way back towards Castle.

"Get me some alcohol and some gauze," she instructed. "And the bourbon we brought." She quickly set to cleaning the cut on his forehead. She was rewarded when he groaned and his eyes flickered open. She stared back into them.

"Castle," she smiled, "Castle, can you hear me?" He shifted slightly, and winced again. "Hey," Kate whispered. Castle stared up at her, drowning in her sea green eyes.

"Am I dreaming?" Castle grunted, as he tried to push himself up. "Kate, what's going…" She shushed him.

"Easy, Castle," Kate held him down as gently as she could. "You hit your head pretty hard." Castle confirmed that fact pretty quickly as his vision blurred in whirls of color, and he sank back to the ground.

"Whoa," he muttered with surprise, "That's disorienting."

"Just stay still and you'll be fine," Kate chastised. "It's just a little bump to the head." As if he needed to verify this himself he reached up with one of his hands and palpated where he felt the worst pain. He winced as his fingers brushed the bump on the back of his head.

"Ouch," Castle grunted.

"Yeah," Kate mocked with some bemusement, "Ouch is right."

"Are you mocking me?" Castle asked in mock hurt. His twinkling blue eyes sparkled as she lightly stroked his face with her palm.

"Not at all," Kate smiled gently. "Here. Take a sip of this," she indicated the small flask in her hand, and poured a bit down his throat as she tilted up his head. He closed his eyes and coughed as it burned on the way down. He winced again as she tweaked his shoulder. "Hopefully it'll take some of the edge off. I don't really have anything else to give you."

"Ugh," Castle grunted, "Oww. I think my shoulder is dislocated. Or at least I hope that's all it is because I can't really move my arm." Kate bit down on her lip, knowing that she was going to have to set his arm, and cause him pain. She offered him something to bite down on.

"Here," Kate said softly, "Bite on this. It's going to hurt."

"Ever the romantic," Castle joked as he stuck the leather belt in his mouth. Kate closed her eyes as she pulled his arm and pushed forwards. Castle screamed into the leather as the pain flared. But after, Castle seemed much more comfortable. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to move his arm. "There. That's better."

"Still," she brushed some of the hair out of of his eyes, "You got pretty worked over."

"Yeah," Castle swallowed. "So what happened? How did you rescue me from those guys? They crashed our vehicle and then I remember…" Castle stopped speaking as his eyes fell on the pillowcase, and then onto the discarded AR-15 rifles. Kate finally saw the look she had been looking for. The shock of knowing the truth. Only, he wasn't as amused as she thought he would be. Instead, his eyes were full of disbelief. "Oh, Kate… Please tell me you didn't."

"Castle," Kate bit out slowly, trying to figure out how to respond most appropriately.

"Oh god," Castle muttered, "You did, didn't you?" Kate winced as Castle swore under his breath. "What the hell were you thinking?" Castle was angry as he clenched his jaw. "You're going to ruin everything you've worked for! Everything! For what? For me?"

"That's exactly who I did it for, Castle," Kate confessed aloud, her eyes holding Rick's in a heated gaze. "I wasn't going to let them do it. Not to you."

"Katie," Castle breathed, "You really shouldn't have. This is…this is bad. I mean...really really bad."

"I told you," She smiled, "I told you that I'd get you out. Don't you remember?"

"Of course I do," Castle replied in a low tone, "But I didn't really ever expect that you actually would."

"Then you don't know me very well," Kate teased huskily, "You should know that I keep my word, Castle." It was then that Castle saw the look in Kate's green eyes. Even in the dark in the back of a moving van, he could see the sincerity in her eyes and composure rolling off of the detective in waves. She was calm as she leaned forwards. "Now, tell me something, Castle," Kate breathed quietly, "Did I do it for love? Or am I just a fool?"

"Love," Castle breathed, stealing a kiss from the detective. She looked shocked for a long moment, as the kiss was happening, but finally gave back and deepened it. And for a moment, just for a moment, they forgot all of their problems. It was Kate who got her bearings first and looked away. She cleared her throat as Castle added, "Or at least I hope so."

He looked at her with sparkling eyes, hardly daring to ask. "Was this supposed to be some sort of grand gesture?"

"Don't humor yourself, Castle," Kate smiled teasingly, "I was just fulfilling my promise." Rick swallowed uncomfortably over the lump in his throat as he started to rethink everything.

"Ask me how much I love you, Kate."

"Castle," Kate spoke with slight annoyance.

"Just humor me," Castle pleaded, holding her gaze with his, "Just this once."

"Fine," Kate dared to breath, "How much do you love me?"

"More than you'll ever know," Castle finished. This time, it was Kate who pulled him in for the kiss.

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