Javier Esposito paced the length of the loft, trying not to let the nervous knot in his stomach get any bigger. The case, as far as the NYPD and Homeland Security were concerned, was closed. The spores were safely ensconced in some top secret government facility somewhere. Anyone who didn't know any better would have thought that the members of their 'team' deserved to kick back, relax, go out for a cold beer and sleep for days.

But Esposito knew better. Now comes the hard part, he thought.

Lanie, Ryan and Castle were sitting on the floor, letting Perlmutter and Alexis hook each of them up to both an EKG and an EEG. The mass of wires and machines was daunting to look at, let alone to be hooked up to it. "I'm starting to feel like a refrigerator covered in magnets," grumbled Lanie.

Castle grabbed Lanie's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's for a good cause. Try to remember that."

"Yeah, like I can *forget*," Lanie griped. The news was running non-stop coverage of the attack: covering every hospital and clinic and talking about infection rates and antibiotic shortages. And *that* was based on the assumption that the attack was regular anthrax spores. Thankfully no one had leaked the truth yet...

A knock on the door startled everyone. All activity in the room ceased as six of the seven people in the room wondered who was on the other side of the door. One of them, though, knew without opening the door who it was. "You know, you don't have to be here for this!" Ryan yelled to the door.

"I know," a familiar voice called back to them.

Esposito crossed to the door, working carefully to avoid any of the wires or machines. He opened the door to the newest member of their crazy team. "Come on in, Fallon."

Fallon entered the loft, immediately noticing the mass of wires and machines. "Hey," he greeted Esposito. The curiosity and concern in Fallon's voice was obvious. "How are they doing?"

"They haven't started yet," replied Esposito, moving away from the doorway to let the other man in.

Fallon moved through the loft, carefully avoiding the mass of cables and machines in the middle of the living room until he joined Esposito in the clean, uncluttered space of the kitchen. The detective handed him a beer, which he drank from gratefully. Fallon seemed to be almost as concerned for the safety of the three people in the center of the storm as Esposito did...a fact which the detective was finding perplexing. "I know why I'm so worried," Esposito commented, "but why are you?"

"They saved my life," Fallon replied simply, never taking his eyes off the living room.

Esposito put a hand on Fallon's shoulder, updating the agent's pile of memories in his mind, then squeezed the man's shoulder in sympathy when he realized that Fallon was, indeed, there for some of the same reasons that he was. "They'll be fine, Fallon. Stuff like this happens all the time."

Fallon couldn't help but crack a small, nervous smile. He knew the detective didn't believe a word he was saying, but the sheer attempt to make an effort was in itself encouraging.

Alexis joined the two men in the kitchen, her job as lab assistant now mostly done. Recognizing that there was a man in her kitchen that she had yet to meet, Alexis did the polite thing and stretched out her hand in greeting. "Alexis Castle."

"You're Castle's daughter?" Fallon took his eyes off the living room just long enough to greet the pretty redheaded coed. "Mark Fallon. Nice to finally meet you."

"Same here," agreed Alexis. "Dad's told me a lot about you. You're much...nicer in person."

Fallon shook his head, smiling broadly as he wondered just what kind of an impression he had been making in the past. "I've been hearing that a lot lately." He quickly changed the subject to the reason they were all there. "Is it always like this?"

"Not really," replied Alexis. "This was totally Dr. Perlmutter's idea. If he can track their brain activity over the course of a really big spell like this one, he *thinks* he can pinpoint spots where they can adjust things in the future so there are less after-effects."

"Like Lanie's comas?" asked Fallon. Alexis nodded.

Beckett joined the group in the kitchen as Perlmutter made the last-minute preparations. "I know why Lanie's a part of this, and I *think* I have a good idea why your dad's there, Alexis...but why does Detective Ryan need to be in on it?"

"From what I've been able to tell to this point," replied Alexis, "Kevin has the ability to be...I'm not sure how to put this...like magic coffee."

"Magic coffee?" Fallon raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "I don't follow."

Alexis explained, "Everyone's abilities work just fine on their own, but when they run into a challenge that can be potentially overwhelming, Kevin connects with their mind and gives it a boost...which can give them the power, concentration and focus to get whatever needs to get done, done." She turned to Esposito to make sure her explanation was accurate. "That sound right to you, Javier?"

"Sounds 'bout right to me, Lex," replied Esposito. "Although I may never let my partner live down the magic coffee idea..."

"I heard that!" exclaimed Ryan, his voice half warning, half teasing.

Perlmutter stopped everyone else's conversations when he moved to his computer outside of the main area. "Starbucks pranks are going to have to wait, gentlemen. I believe we're ready to begin."

All conversation in the room ceased, leaving no sound but the ambient noises of New York City just outside the windows. Castle, Lanie and Ryan all drew in a deep, strengthening breath and let it out slowly to steady themselves. "Ready?" Ryan asked the other two.

"As I'll ever be," replied Lanie. Castle simply nodded.

Beckett switched from watching the three people in the living room to watching their auras, at Alexis' request. "What do you see, Kate?" asked Alexis.

"Ryan's aura seems like part of it has dug into the ground, like it's pulling energy from the earth itself. The rest of it...the rest of it's kind of surrounding Castle and Lanie both..." Beckett squinted and blinked as her eyes switched back to 'normal' vision. "Sorry Alexis, I can't watch any more than that. It's way too bright for me."

Alexis nodded, watching the fascinating scene unfolding before her. Even she couldn't help but notice a 'shine' on the three people in the circle. Sparks started to fly around the trio as Castle focused on his spell and his desired results. Knowing how terrible his poetry had been in the past, the wizard chose instead to add a little Latin onto his most tried and true spell:

"Repair that we have damaged, return the world to its balance and shield us from those who might wish us to be harmed...Sanabit eos!"

A blast of energy exploded from the center of the circle, rippling through the apartment and out across the city. The group observing the blast staggered back from the impact with the wave but did not lose their footing. Their concern shifted quickly to their three friends, all of whom collapsed as the energy released. Perlmutter was hovering around them almost immediately, checking vital signs.

After what felt like the longest, most tense moments of the lives of every person in the room, Perlmutter stood up and announced with a smile. "Medically, they're completely fine. Just knocked out temporarily."

As if on cue, Ryan sat up, groaning loudly. "Is everyone ok?" he asked.

"You're the first one to come out of it," replied Perlmutter.

That brought Ryan to full alertness in a hurry. "Lanie..." He entered her mind almost instinctively, which brought them both back within a minute of each other.

Perlmutter knelt down to get closer to the three Guardians' level. "How are you feeling, Lanie?" asked Perlmutter.

"Peachy," drolled Lanie sarcastically. Her tone turned serious, though, as her body quickly regained its strength. "Did it work?"

"Besides probably getting rid of my ulcer?" shrugged Perlmutter with a smile. "We haven't checked yet. I was more worried about you guys."

Alexis found the remote and turned on the television. The non-stop coverage of the attack had flipped completely around to non-stop coverage of the 'Miracle at St. Vincent's'. "Wow," Alexis exclaimed, "everyone cured in one shot. Nice job, dad..."

The lack of a response from Castle disturbed almost everyone in the room. Alexis, Beckett and Fallon surrounded the wizard, Beckett anxiously holding her boyfriend's hand and caressing his face. "Castle? Rick, honey, wake up...Rick? Rick?"

Ryan, however, did the one thing no one would have possibly expected in this situation. He started laughing. Loudly. "Guys," Ryan informed them, "he woke up around the same time I did."

Beckett punched Castle in the arm as hard as she could. Castle rolled over, clutching his arm, unable to hold back his smile any longer. "Owww..." he pouted through his laughter, "Beckett, why'd you hit me so hard?"

"You scared me half to death!" countered Beckett angrily.

Castle sat up with Fallon's help, still a little shaky even with the extra 'rest'. "So it worked?" asked Castle.

"Like a charm," replied Fallon.

Beckett frowned as she asked, "Will that affect your case against Atwater?"

Fallon shook his head. "Nah. Finding the vials in his possession is enough on its own to put him away for a long time."

"So I guess your case is closed, then?" asked Castle.

"Guess so," Fallon agreed, pulling Castle up to a standing position.

Castle grabbed Fallon's hand, shaking it as best he could. "Take care of yourself, Fallon. It's been...interesting."

Fallon shook the wizard's hand in return. "That's an understatement." The agent pulled a business card out of his wallet and handed it to Castle. "This is my office information. My personal information is on the back. If you guys need anything, anything at *all*, please don't hesitate to contact me."

Castle nodded, and Fallon made his way out of the loft, taking time to say goodbye to each person in the room in turn. Alexis walked the agent out of the loft, then turned back toward her father and his friends as the door closed. "Okay, *what* happened this morning?"

"What are you talking about, pumpkin?" Castle asked innocently.

"When you *finally* told me about everything that happened with that bomb after the little awards ceremony, you described Fallon like some sort of real-life Robocop. And not only was he a genuinely *nice guy* today, he practically declared himself to be at your beck and call. What happened between you guys?"

Castle slowly made his way over to the dining room table, sitting down to rest. "Alexis, I promise I'll tell you the whole story..."

Alexis heard the hesitancy in her father's voice. "But...?"

Esposito's eyes sparkled even as he fidgeted, trying to burn off some nervous energy. "But first," he interrupted the father-daughter conversation, "first I need to make sure something gets done *right*".

Lanie drew in a deep breath, having a strong suspicion that she knew what was coming. "I think I'm going to need to be *really* sitting down for this. Honey, can you help me into a chair before you start?"

Esposito couldn't help but smile. Leave it to Lanie to be trying to orchestrate this even *now*... He was at his woman's side in a heartbeat, helping her into the dining room chair opposite Castle...before getting down on one knee. The collective gasps he heard from both Alexis and Beckett told Esposito he was starting off on the right foot...so to speak. "Lanie," he began, "you are my best friend and the coolest woman I've ever met. And while you drive me absolutely crazy sometimes...I wouldn't have it any other way." He pulled a gold chain out from underneath his shirt, revealing the women's diamond ring attached to it. Unhooking the chain from around his neck, he pulled on it until the ring fell into his hand. Holding the chain in his left hand and the ring in his right, Esposito held his right hand out to the woman who already held his heart. "Lanie Parish, will you marry me?"

Even in her weakened state, Lanie knew what her answer was. She looked into his big brown eyes, smiled and held onto his right hand with both of her own. "Yes."

The room broke out into applause and loud cheers even as Esposito pulled Lanie into a celebratory kiss. One that ended far too quickly for Lanie's taste...she sighed, putting aside those thoughts to be acted on later, when they were *alone*. Instead, Lanie wrapped her arms around her fiancé's neck and whispered in his ear, "Baby, you couldn't have done that any better..."

"I love you so much, Lanie," Esposito whispered into her closest ear. Pulling her up into a standing position, it was only then that Esposito realized the ring was still in his hand and not on *her* finger. He slid the ring onto Lanie's left hand as he gave her another sweet, loving kiss.

Then Alexis nearly knocked her mentor over, tackling the woman into a giant bear hug. "Congratulations, Lanie! I'm so happy for you!" Other less physically enthusiastic forms of celebration soon followed as the loft was quickly cleaned up and transformed back into Beckett and Castle's home once again.

It wasn't long before, sitting around the dining room table, drinks in hand, the inevitable questions began. "So Lanie," asked Castle, "now that you guys have told us the story behind all *three* proposals...have you given any thought to *when* you'd like to get married?"

Lanie was about to protest that she should be allowed to enjoy her engagement, but Esposito, instead, shocked everyone in the room by answering for them. "Next June. Oh, and can we get married at your place in the Hamptons?"

Everyone stared at Esposito...most of all his new fiancée. "You *saw* our wedding, didn't you?" Lanie gasped out, completely surprised. "When did this happen?!"

Esposito, for his part, had the decency to blush. "The night we got back together at Castle's place," he admitted. "I didn't want to pressure you, so I kept that particular vision to myself. Lex finagled it out of me before we left the Hamptons, but I'm guessing she kept her word about keeping this top secret?" When Alexis nodded in confirmation, Esposito turned back to his fiancée. "Will you forgive me?"

Lanie leaned in and gave her man a gentle kiss to show that all was forgiven. "One thing's for damn sure," she teased, "at least now I know I won't be the one doing all the wedding planning by myself..."

Agent Mark Fallon shivered in the chilly night air, debating whether to take a cab the mile or so to Penn Station or walk. He stood next to the apartment building's front door for a minute, watching the 'huddled masses' of New York City pass him by. Fallon started thinking about where his life had been when he had come to New York; how he had become consumed by the job...obsessed with it. How he had let the job become his life because of the gaping hole that 9/11 had left in his heart. But now? Now that gaping hole was healed. As much as he adored his wife, he finally felt like he could move on with life. Finally felt like he could *have* a life again.

And, as if the universe were trying to drive the point home, he even had reason to believe in superheroes. It was hard not to feel like a kid.

Fallon settled on walking to the train. Clearly he needed time to think, and that was *much* easier to do in motion. But first, he realized, he had a phone call to make...

Homeland Security Director Diane McPherson leaned back in her chair, turning around to stare at her view of lights reflecting the brilliance of the Capitol Dome at night. The late nights shouldn't surprise her; decades of experience in law enforcement were long enough to realize that crime never took a holiday, or a vacation, or a night off. Or even a nap, she mused. What did surprise the director, however, was how much the late nights were *exhausting* her.

She was getting far too old for this. No wonder none of her predecessors lasted longer than four years on the job.

A phone call shook the director out of her morose musings. When she saw who was calling, she answered immediately. "Agent Fallon! Good to hear from you."

"Good...good evening, director." Fallon was clearly not expecting to hear a living being on the other end of the line. "I figured you would be long gone for the evening."

"One of the perils of the job, Agent Fallon, as you are well aware," Diane told him. "How can I help you?"

"I wanted to let you know that we have determined who killed Thomas Atwater and secured the anthrax spores."

Diane raised an eyebrow in impressed surprise. "That was quick work, Mr. Fallon. And the attack on Central Park?"

"The cure is being distributed to those who were exposed and we have a suspect in custody."

"Excellent! So the case truly is closed. Fantastic work. Your superior performance on this mission will be noted in your file."

Fallon was surprised and encouraged by his boss' high praise. "Thank you, ma'am."

"And the...other case? Were you able to get any information on the origins of those photographs?"

"No sir," Fallon lied, hopefully smoothly, "I didn't find anything."

Diane let out a long sigh, clearly expressing her frustration at the lack of...anything, really, related to those photographs. It's like they weren't supposed to exist..."Thank you for trying, Agent Fallon."

Fallon was starting to feel guilty about lying to his boss...but that guilt quickly subsided as he remembered his oath to Castle and his team, and what they had done for him. "I wish I could have done more, ma'am."

"I'm sure you did your best," the director complimented him. "Good night, Agent Fallon."

"Good night, ma'am."

The slow clapping of a single person's hands startled Fallon as he shut off his cell phone. "I am impressed," he heard a woman's voice state simply behind him. "Agent Mark Fallon. Although, deliberately lying to your boss is not a good way to keep your job."

Fallon drew his weapon immediately, turning around to try and locate the potential threat. A tiny, delicate, feminine figure approached him from a nearby alleyway, silhouetted in the darkness. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Put that useless weapon away," the woman replied as she approached with a walk that was slow, deliberate and seductive. Finally stepping into the light, the tiny woman shook out her brunette hair and smiled...a wide grin that revealed a startlingly inhuman set of fangs...

"My name is Ekaterina Petrovich, Agent Mark Fallon. And now that you have proven your loyalty to the Guardians, I require your assistance."

Well, that's it! Another one is in the 'completed' column. :D Thanks to everyone who has left me comments on this series, but especially to my regular peeps phnxgrl, someguyshere, TheButterflyCurse996, and especially my personal Kenzi, TheTruthBetween (anyone who doesn't get the reference *really* needs to check out Lost Girl). You guys have all been the spark of motivation to keep me going at one point or another between chapters and I can't thank you enough for it.

Anyway, this series will continue with Resolutions, a Beckett-focused story that will focus on her ability to communicate with the dead. Regulars to this series will know that this means there will be a long-awaited scene somewhere in the next story. :D First chapter should be up by next Monday at the *very* latest. Don't forget to leave your comments below!