Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Kate woke up and sat right up in the bed, first wondering where the hell she was. Then she felt a familiar hand rubbing her back and remembered the tree house, but she also remembered the men and the bodies. She turned her head to see Rick lie beside her with his eyes closed but still rubbing her back. Almost like it was a reflex. She narrowed her eyes but let it go. She slowly lay down again and turned her body so she lay on her side, facing Rick. She watched him sleep, if she had waken him he was already out again. But she couldn't blame him, she knew how much this pained him. He probably blamed himself for bringing them out here, which meant he needed all the sleep he could get. She listened carefully to the sounds of the forest, trying to get a hint if someone was coming closer to them. Rick started to move in anxiety and Kate looked at him with worry. She touched his face softly, trying to comfort him even though he was dreaming.

"Kate, stay... Don't go away.... Please..." he mumbled and she furrowed her eyes.

He dreamed about her either leaving him or her dying.

"I'm right here, I will never leave you" she whispered in his ear, trying to change his nightmare into a dream.

"No nonono, Kate!" Rick almost screamed so Kate put her hand over his mouth.

"Heyhey, I'm right here, wake up babe, it's just a nightmare, okay? I'm right here" she whispered while she softly touched his face to wake him up, she also kissed his cheek to see if that worked.

"Kate, Kate....." he kept mumbling.

"Babe, wake up. I'm not going anywhere without you" she whispered and his eyes started to slowly open.

She smiled and kissed his lips for a moment. When she pulled away Rick looked at her with reliefe in his eyes.

His hand touched her cheek and stayed there. She put her hand over his and when their hands dropped they twined together.

"I love you" Rick said with a small smile.

"And I love you" Kate said, copying his smile.

She leaned down to kiss him again. They both jumped when a phone signal started beeping. Kate threw herself of the bed to her clothes and took out her phone. It was an unknown but she answered anyway.

"Beckett."

She heard heavy breathing in the other end and sat down on the bed, putting on the speakers so Rick could hear too.

"Hello?" Kate said, trying not to sound afraid.

"You should come out from wherever you are, it's pointless to run" a dark man's voice said.

Kate shivered but continued the conversation.

"Do you know who I am? And how did you get my number?"

"I just searched for cell phones active nearby and I found yours and another one's. Guess it's your boyfriend's, huh?" the man said and you could hear the smile he had on his face.

Kate looked at Rick with fear in her eyes.

"Do you know who we are? I'm the writer Richard Castle and my fiancè here is Katherine Beckett, New York's finest police detective. So why don't you turn yourself in while you can, and let us go" Rick said and Kate wondered if that really was a good idea.

"You're a COP?!" the man roared.

Then the line went dead. Kate and Rick just looked at the phone and then Kate tried to call the precinct. But for some reason she didn't have any signal to do that.

"Do you have any signal?" she asked Rick and he went to his clothes and picked up his phone.

"No" he sighed.

"How far away are we from the nearest city or village?" Kate started to lose hope.

Rick shook his head.

"Too far."