A/N: Katherine is the fastest and the nicest beta. I'm so lucky to know you. *hug*

Thanks Lou for the prompt and for being so flexible on the length of the story. ;)

Don't be scared by the prompt. This is a happy fic.

Ficlet prompt: Kate comes with the boys to "rescue" Castle in Headhunters, only this time, there's a shootout... and she gets hit. Again.

Again

"NYPD!"

"NYPD! Let me see your hands!"

The shouts echoed off the garage walls as they surrounded the group. Kate looked at Castle to check that he was okay and noticed that he seemed relieved to see her, almost happy. It was a nice change from the cold indifference she had been getting from him recently.

She gave him a small smile, but he had already turned back to Slaughter. She suppressed a sigh and pushed the feeling of disappointment down. Now was not the time to dwell on Castle's strange behavior. She could do that later with the help of Lanie and a bottle of red.

Right now, she needed to focus on the take-down. She re-adjusted her grip on her Glock and made a quick sweep of the surroundings with her gaze.

Suddenly, a movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She turned towards it and saw one of the gang members reach out for his gun, his eyes set on Castle. Beside her, Ryan had noticed the same thing and yelled at him to drop the gun. The man - or more like a boy - acted as if he didn't hear. With a steady hand, he lifted the weapon and it was then that Kate realized Castle wasn't wearing his vest. Although, the man holding the gun was young, she knew he wouldn't miss.

She made a split second decision and took off in a sprint.

Just as she reached Castle, she heard the crack of the gunshot. Seconds later, she felt the impact as the bullet hit the back of her vest and, combined with her tackling Castle to the ground, knocked the wind out of her. She rolled off Castle and let out a groan when her back connected with the hard concrete.

Yeah, that was going to hurt like bitch the next day.

She closed her eyes and prepared for the pain that would come with trying to get up. Next thing she knew, someone was running their hands over her body and repeating her name frantically. Castle.

"Beckett! Kate! Can you hear me? No, no, no, no. This can't be happening again. Kate, answer me. Please, open your eyes."

She could hear the panic in his voice and suddenly realized how similar this situation was to another shooting almost a year ago.

Except it really wasn't.

This time she didn't feel like her chest was caving in on itself. And her clothes weren't getting sticky with her own blood seeping out.

But Castle didn't seem to notice the crucial differences. He continued begging her to wake up, while his hands still searched for the bullet wound.

"Castle, I'm okay," she said as she opened her eyes to see his teary eyes roaming her body, following the path of his hands.

"Yes, Kate. You're going to be okay. The ambulance is on its way and the hospital isn't too far away. Where were you hit? Where's the entry wound? I need to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. I just need to find the wound. Where is it?" He was getting more and more frantic and her words had no effect in calming him down.

"Castle, look at me," she said more forcefully this time and lifted her right hand to cradle his cheek. That seemed to get his attention and he finally looked into her eyes. His hands carried on with their search, though.

"Castle, I'm wearing a vest. It stopped the bullet. I'm okay," she said calmly, but firmly.

Slowly his hands stilled as the words registered. He drew in a shaky breath and she could see the look of panic ebb away from his eyes.

"God, Kate. I thought…" His voice cracked and a single tear slipped from his eye.

"I know, I know," she said softly. "But I'm here. My back's going to be sore for a few days, but I'm okay."

"You're okay," he repeated quietly, clearly still trying to convince himself. "If something happened to you… I don't think I'd be able to…" He trailed off and the pained look in his eyes broke her heart.

All the hurt and confusion over his recent attitude faded away. He was still the same man that she fell in love with. And it was obvious that he still cared about her.

With the help of her free arm, she lifted her upper body from the ground, stifling a groan as the pain hit her. Their faces were now only inches apart and she used the hand still cradling his cheek to guide him the rest of the way.

The kiss was short - merely a tender touch of her lips to his - but it had the desired effect. When they separated, his eyes were clearer and there was a small smile on his face. A smile that mirrored the one on her face, she was sure.

Their moment was broken by the sound of the ambulance arriving and reluctantly he pulled further away from her.

"Let's get you checked out and then we'll talk about how it's not okay for you to jump in front of bullets," Castle joked as he carefully helped her sit up properly, but she could hear the shaky undertone of his voice.

She took hold of his hand and waited until he was looking at her.

"Once this case is sorted out, we'll talk," she said seriously, looking into his eyes.

He gave a slight nod and turned to greet the EMTs. She could see the pleased smile forming on his face and it automatically caused her own lips curl up.

So, she wasn't completely fixed yet. Maybe she didn't have to be. Maybe she could take those last steps with him. Together.

The End