Frozen Love (A Castle Fanfiction)

After Death

A chaotic rush of fear and an awakening ignorance of the situation washed over every inch of my body. Nothing could have stopped me from shooting out of my weakened laying state and into the highest sitting position I could manage. Fatigue and stiff muscles were not the cause of my very pitiful arch upward, but the tight blankets around me were. Memories did not form in my mind, so the first thing I had to ask was, "What happened?" I was in the back of an ambulance, burrito-ed in thick wool sheets, freezing cold and completely clueless in these short couple of minutes.

"You were in a freezer. You and Mr. Castle developed mild hypothermia. He's fine, he's just in the ambulance next door with another doctor warming up. He hasn't woken up quite yet." These words sent me right back to the present as the night's events beamed into my memory. I'd kissed him. And I didn't just kiss him, I told him I loved him. Heat flooded my cheeks and a smile spread across my lips that I could not ignore, no matter how hard I tried. The young EMT then joked, "Yeah, I thought you'd remember that kiss eventually. It was quite the sight to behold while we rushed in to save your lives."

My face fell flat and went back to the pale, ghostly state it had been in. "You- you saw us. Who all saw? I mean, who- who came in?"

Just as I asked, I got my answer from Ryan and Esposito at the door. Of course Javi was the first to comment, "How you doing Beckett? You and Castle sure seemed to keep each other warm."

Ryan then added, "I know you just got out of a freezer, but your bright pink lips say differently."

"Really boys?" I asked with annoyance, "I wouldn't be complaining. We found your bomb before you and we had half the resources." In my own voice which now lost all panic, I could hear a twinge each time I said the word we. It wasn't a new word. It wasn't even new to Castle and me. It just had a whole new implication.

The boys caught on and smiled at the words as they came out of my mouth. I couldn't tell why exactly, but the fact that they were so pleased by my confusion pissed me off a little. My face drooped into an irritated mask, covering the deep joy, curiosity and worry surrounding my one and only writer, and the boys raised their eyebrows. "Gees Beckett. I know we interrupted your play time with Writer Boy, but we were saving your life. No need to be so snippy about it."

I clenched my teeth together, stood as the EMT moved out of my way. I warned in simple terms, "Shut up. Just shut up." Hopping off the back of the large vehicle that I was, unfortunately, not unfamiliar with, I sunk both feet to the ground in front of my detectives. "Where is he?"

Lights flashing in the darkness from cop cars, two ambulances, and a fire truck showed me the way to my newest and hopefully life-long discovery. A single morgue mobile was being loaded with the body of a frozen Arab man who'd been framed for murder in my murder investigation while a bomb had gone missing, and we had absolutely no idea where to go next with the process of finding it, and yet Castle was, not for the first time, the only thing on my mind. Just as I approached the flashing lights of his rescue vehicle, I caught a glimpse of him laying silently, wrapped tightly in a similar wool blanket that I was wearing, and then his doctor. The man taking Castle's vitals then looked up at me, not intending to find my face at all, but finding it with his always charming, loving smile.

He called my name and started to stand. My heart raced. He was supposed to be in Haiti for an uncertain amount of time. What the hell was he doing here? Taking Castle's pulse of all things? My heart beat as a humming bird's would. I didn't want to see him. I wanted to see Rick. But- why? Why did I want to see the writer and not the doctor? Josh and I had been going out for almost a year. I thought this was the relationship that was going to work out. I mean, I love Castle with every ounce of my heart, and more than anything I want to be with him every second of every day if that was possible.