621. Chapter 621

After Tick, Tick, Tick

Episode 2.17

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: And….BOOM! I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Author's note: Obviously this takes place during Boom.

Castle was a little upset that Beckett had made such an issue of seeing her nude, but he was so worried about her that he pushed it out of his mind. With one arm around her, he headed for the door, being careful to avoid any of the fires still burning in her apartment.

They had almost made it to the door, when a heavy dresser Beckett kept by her door crashed to the floor, catching Castle's leg. He held on tightly to the jacket around Beckett, and managed to pull it off of her. Falling, he slammed his head into a piece of nameless debris on the floor. For a few seconds, his vision blurred.

"Castle, give me back the jacket this instant and don't look at me."

He stared up at the ceiling and tried to answer and hand her the coat. However, nothing came out of his mouth and the jacket was caught on something. "Okay." He mouthed.

She knelt beside him and a look of unaccustomed concern was on her face. "Are you okay?"

Castle was staring straight at Kate Beckett's boobs. He knew he shouldn't look, but he did. "Uh, I fell." He pulled on the jacket but it was stuck on something. "Jacket won't…." He felt his mind clearing. "I think I fell on the jacket. It's under me. Let me get up." He tried to stand, but his leg hurt. "Is there something I can grab onto?"

"I'll help you up. We have to get out of here."

"Beckett, you're naked. You should…." Castle stopped, not sure what Beckett should do.

"Too late now. You've seen me. Don't worry. Draw your good leg up and put your foot flat on the floor. Then I'll pull you to your feet. On three. Okay?"

She pulled Castle to his feet and he found that his arms were wrapped around a very beautiful, firm and smooth and very naked Kate Beckett. "You should get the jacket now. I'm not sure I can lean over and…" Castle stopped as Beckett bent over and grabbed the jacket off of the floor. She does have a perfect ass. Even as that thought went through his mind he knew that Beckett's punishment for looking at her would be…medieval.

They helped each other out of the burning apartment and got to the street just as the first paramedic vehicle pulled up. She pushed Castle towards the paramedic. "I have an injured man here."

"I'll need to check both of you."

"I'm a cop. I have work to do."

"Beckett, the first thing you need is clothing." Castle said, hating to remind her that all she had on was his jacket. Beckett looked down at herself and nodded. "Right." She went off to find something to wear. Police usually carry a change of clothes with them in their squad cars, so she found enough clothing and headed back to see how Castle was.

Jordan Shaw was debriefing Castle in the back of the ambulance when she got there. "How is he?" She quietly asked the paramedic.

"Mostly a mildly strained ankle. I taped it up. He should rest, ice it down, and elevate it. I found no evidence of a concussion."

"I'm not resting." Castle interrupted. "I've got work to do."

The paramedic shrugged. "Then again I've seen guys get up and play football after a strain like that."

"Come in here, Detective." Agent Shaw ordered. "I'm finished with Castle and I need to talk to you. You were right. He is surprisingly useful. More than useful, I'd say vital. He not only figured out that Ben Conrad wasn't the killer, he managed to pull you out of your burning apartment. I can see why you'd want to keep him around. But, if you ever feel you can do without him, the FBI can always use…"

"I'm afraid Castle is my partner, Agent Shaw." Kate wondered how much Castle had told the FBI agent. "What did Castle tell you about what happened inside my apartment when he got there?"

Shaw checked her notes. "He knocked the door down, ran inside, found you in the bathtub, got you out, headed for the door, and then something hit his ankle. You both managed to get each other out. Why, did he leave out something?"

Kate nodded. "I'm afraid I acted unprofessionally. I didn't want Castle to see me naked and I insisted that he turn around and hand me his coat before I'd get out of the tub. Castle, I'm sorry for that. If I had just accepted your help, you probably wouldn't have hurt your ankle."

"Beckett, don't worry about it. It was pretty stressful and things were happening very fast. You shouldn't…"

"Castle, I was wrong. I made a mistake and I hope you'll forgive me."

"Of course. Of course."

Shaw closed her notebook. "Okay, let's get busy finding this son of a bitch." She smiled. "Well, at least he still hasn't seen you naked, Beckett." She turned away and never saw the blush that kept over Beckett's face at Shaw's misunderstanding of what had actually happened.

Once they were done, Beckett went back to Castle's loft with a few things she'd salvaged from the wreckage of her apartment and what she could find in open all night stores. She found that although it was late, she was too wired to sleep. She sat in the kitchen, talking with him.

"I guess I shouldn't have been so embarrassed. It's not like you've never seen a naked woman before. I imagine that compared to a lot of the women you've been with, I'm not all that much."

Castle thought about just letting that remark go by, but decided to tell the truth. "Not a chance. You're a beautiful woman, Beckett. You're at least as beautiful as any woman I've ever known and more beautiful than the vast majority of them. And none of them had your drive, your fire, your dedication, your passion for justice. You're remarkable and extraordinary, and a whole lot more."

Kate had expected Castle to dismiss her statement with a quip. She hadn't expected what he just told her. "That's…very kind of you to say that."

"It's nothing I haven't told you before, in one way or another."

Kate found she was terrified, but spoke anyway. "You like me a lot, don't you."

He smiled. "A lot more than you like me."

She hated the easy manner that those words came out, but knew that he probably thought that was true. It's not like I've ever made an effort with him. "Castle, I need to thank you for everything. Not just this case, but all of the others. I do like you, too, but probably not as much as you like me. That's all my fault. When my mom was murdered, everything changed. All I've been since then is a cop. I don't know if I can be more than a cop, or if I even want to be more. But I do like you." She added. "Most of the time."

"It's a start."

Yes, it is, isn't it? She thought.