A/N: I do not own Castle. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this fic because I'd be...busy. Yeah.

Kate Beckett never thought much about how in shape she was. She was constantly training to make herself stronger and faster, but she never really timed herself whenever she went running. But right now, she swore she had run the distance of 15 ft in under two seconds. That would be because of the suspect, the gun, the innocent blonde civilian woman, and one hardheaded crime novelist who had intervened.

Beckett fell to her knees and grabbed the limp Castle by his shoulders, hauling his head onto her lap. His eyes were closed. For some reason, she almost lost it right then because she couldn't see those big blues with just a touch of grey around the iris. She shook him, cradling one side of his face, her voice cracking.

"Castle! Castle, come on, open your eyes! Look at me!"

He lay still, unresponsive. Beckett stifled the sob growing deep in her tightened throat and dropped her gaze to his chest where the bullet had hit. There was a divot in his Writer vest so she stripped it off of him, finding that there was no wound. Just as she did, the novelist coughed and regained consciousness, having been winded by the force of the bullet. She didn't know what he his first words would be after being shot, but he still managed to surprise her anyway.

"Did I ever tell you…I have a thing for brunettes?" He rasped with a crooked smile. Beckett choked, half on a laugh and half on a sob.

"You watch too many movies, Castle. That doesn't even make sense," Beckett replied, content to smooth the jet-black hair away from his forehead. He wasn't all that coherent yet and wouldn't realize what a tender gesture it was.

"Mm. Guess so." He winced as his fingers found the spot where the bullet had been stopped.

"Is this what getting shot feels like? That's for the birds."

"Yeah. Now you know why we wear the vest. Hurts like a bitch."

"Indeed it does. Where's the girl?"

Beckett waved a hand at the empty doorway to their right. "Esposito took her to an ambulance. Ryan's running down the perp as we speak."

Castle smirked. "Nice. Guess that leaves us all alone to…"

She arched a suspicious eyebrow. "To what?"

"Oh, c'mon. I've been shot. Don't I at least deserve a kiss from the lady? Movie clichés demand that you kiss me because you're relieved I'm alive!" he protested, sounding stronger by the minute, if only because he was talking about kissing her. Beckett rolled her eyes.

"You're lucky you're even this close to me. I'm not going to kiss you."

"Fine." She should have been paying attention to Castle's left hand because he reached up and slid it around the back of her neck and pulled, bringing her face down to his. He kissed her, softly, gently, and she couldn't find it in herself to push him away. She could blame it on the adrenaline later.

After several tantalizing seconds, Castle let go, whispering in her ear. "If I had died without doing that, I'd regret it for all eternity."

Beckett licked her lips, clearing her throat. "I'll…phone for an ambulance to make sure you don't have any internal damage. Just lie still."

He snuggled his head in her lap, causing a blush to flood across her cheeks. "Whatever you say, officer."

Beckett dialed away on her phone, fighting a smile as her fingers absently tangled in his hair, reflecting the very nature of their relationship.

FIN

A/N: This is my first Castle fanfic and I hope you like it. Please click that little Review button for me and let me know how it reads. I'd greatly appreciate it. I hope I wrote Castle and Beckett properly because they're one of my all time favorite couples. Thanks for reading!

Kyoko