A.N. This is the Newly edited version of this chapter. I hope to have some new chapters up soon and some new edited up chapters up soon as well. As always, please give me feedback and thank you for reading!

Worry-Prologue

Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship.

It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked.

But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other.

Den of Thieves

Holliwell tried to run. He turned to run when he saw those guns pointed at him. But Ryan was there, gun ready to fire if Holliwell attempted to move. Beckett and Demming were dealing with Holliwell, but Ryan's mind hadn't stopped swimming since he saw the blood. Esposito would never have shot Holliwell unless he knew he was the dirty cop. But Esposito never would have let him leave unless…

"Where's Esposito?" Ryan asked, panic evident in his voice. Unless Esposito was dead or dying, was the answer to Ryan's unfinished thought. When Holliwell hesitated for one moment too long Ryan snapped. He grabbed Holliwell's coat and pulled him so they were face to face.

"WHERE'S ESPOSITO!" Ryan's eyes blazed a blue fire, burning brighter and fiercer than anyone there had ever seen. Holliwell told him Racine's office and Ryan went running up the steps, taking them three at a time. Castle was behind him. Ryan started to call out.

"Esposito! Esposito!" Unthinkable visions cluttered up his mind. Esposito, lying dead. Esposito, shot, dying. It made Ryan run that much faster. When he reached the right floor, Ryan continued to call out as he sprinted to Racine's office. He ran in to see Esposito hunched over Ike Ryan had already whipped out his radio to call for an ambulance. In a way, Ryan was scared that Ike would die or be crippled. He didn't want Esposito to have that on his conscience, not when they had just reunited. But mostly, it was relief running through Ryan's veins when he saw Ike on the ground, not Esposito. He understood why Esposito had been so upset when Ike had faked his own death. Ryan didn't even want to think about losing his brother. The Ambulance arrived, taking Ike away. Esposito had insisted on riding in the back. Ryan was behind them in his car. Once they reached the hospital, Ike was whisked off to surgery. Esposito sat on the cold hard hospital chairs, staring at the speckled tiles on the clean floor.

"Hey." Ryan said softly, approaching Esposito's tired form. He didn't respond. "Are you OK?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"He's alive. And he's going to be okay."

"I know." Esposito responded. Ryan's face took on more concern.

"Then why do you look like you just killed a puppy?"

"It's my fault." Esposito said. Ryan immediately started to shake his head, but before he could speak, Esposito started.

"No, don't try and deny it. I should have moved faster or knocked Ike down."

Ryan sighed.

"If you could have done either of those things, you would have." Ryan replied.

"I should have been the one shot." Esposito said quietly. Ryan's face grew horror striken.

"No. You should not have. If you would have taken the hit, you would have died. Remember losing Ike? Don't do that to me, bro." Ryan said with fervor. When Esposito didn't respond, Ryan took his shoulders and turned them face to face. "Look at me. Javier, look at me. You did the right thing. You should not have taken that bullet. Ike is going to be fine. The only thing you screwed up was not letting me come with you." Ryan stared at Esposito. The last sentence got a reaction.

"What, and let you take that bullet? No. I already almost lost one partner to Holliwell, I wasn't going to lose another." Esposito snapped. Ryan's eyes grew wide. He pulled back. "I know you wanted to come, bro, but I didn't want you to get hurt because of my skeletons." Esposito continued. Ryan was still staring at him in shock. Without blinking, he replied.

"It's okay."

"And besides. I did need you as back up, so thanks." Esposito continued. Ryan nodded, then turned to stare at the floor.

"Esposito?"

"Yeah?"

"If you ever, ever, even think about doing something as stupid as that ever again, I will hunt you down. Got it?" Ryan threatened, still staring at the floor.

"Got it." Esposito replied. The two of them waited. Eventually, Ike was okay, and they arrested Racine. Ike wasn't coming back to the force, but he was going to be back in Esposito's life. Ryan was glad for that. Esposito was a little less haunted.