diff --git a/cs/src/core/protocols/CompactBinary.cs b/cs/src/core/protocols/CompactBinary.cs
index 44651f0679..ab6d06dbfe 100644
--- a/cs/src/core/protocols/CompactBinary.cs
+++ b/cs/src/core/protocols/CompactBinary.cs
@@ -171,7 +171,12 @@ public CompactBinaryWriter(O output, ushort version = 1)
 
         public IProtocolWriter GetFirstPassWriter()
         {
-            return version == 2 ? firstPassWriter : null;
+            if (version == 2)
+            {
+                return firstPassWriter.Value;
+            }
+
+            return null;
         }
 
         /// <summary>