A/N: This story has officially hit over 300 followers! Thank you all so much for sticking with this story! Ive always had some great ideas for stories, and I just came up with another one today at work! But I had no idea that this one would receive the response it did! Thank you all so much for reading, and reviewing, those of you who do.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

"So, Mr. Castle, you're awake I see." Doctor Hughes said over his clip board.

"Kind of, yeah." Castle said, trying to push himself into a more upright position.

"Whoa, don't move so much. We don't want that gun shot wound to tear again. Now, are your muscles sore at all?"

"Yeah, actually, everything feels heavy."

"That's normal. With the electricity flowing through you, your muscles convulsed, and flexed for too long periods of time. You're going to be sore for a while, so I wouldn't suggest working out, or any strenuous activity for at least a couple of weeks."

Castle looked up to Beckett, whom was still standing at his bed side, arms crossed, her vest still on. "Sorry." She rolled her eyes, and scoffed, but it failed to hide her smile.

"Now, we're going to have to keep you for a while, run a few more tests, blood work, respiratory check, all that. You should be out in a couple of days though. In the mean time, take it easy, you've had it pretty rough the last 24 hours."

"You got it, Doc." Castle said with a smile as the doctor walked out.

Finally alone, he thought to himself. With visitors in and out through out the early morning since he woke up, the only constant being the woman he'd rather not have leave, they both felt a sense of relief to have at least a few minutes to themselves. Castle knew that this moment of blissful privacy was going to be short lived, as his mother and Alexis had simply stepped out to fetch the two of them some suitable, and eatable breakfast, and would be back in close to twenty minutes. He was finally able to relax his shoulders, feeling like no one was watching him, telling him what he can and can't do in his condition. He lifted his eyes to his partner who was returning the favor of his gaze. "So..."

"So?"

"I think you can relax now. You've been standing since I woke up, and you still haven't taken off your vest. Might I add that you haven't eaten anything since that candy bar your dad brought with him, which was over five hours ago."

"I'll be fine, Castle. You shouldn't worry about me, though. You've been through hell."

"That may be, but that still doesn't mean that you have to put yourself through it too." She uncrossed her arms and sighed a familiar sigh of defeat. She reached over her midsection and ripped the Velcro from it's place, her chest finally able to expand fully. She drew the vest over her head, and placed it on the seat next to his bed that she told him she would use eventually. "Kate, what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"What happened to you?" He asked again, concern quickly rising in his voice.

"What are you talking about, Castle?" She followed his eye sight, glued onto her chest, not in the usual flattery fashion, given away by the disheartening furrow of his brow. She looked between the v of her T-shirt and rose her fingers up to trace the darkened skin that lay about an inch across. "Oh, I didn't even notice." She played it off lightly.

"Don't tell me you were shot." She sat down on the edge of the bed and took his hand in hers.

"You're safe, that's all that matters now." She said in a soft tone, hoping that he would understand, but she was taking a long shot.

"Listen, why don't you head home? You look like you could use a good nights sleep."

"I'm not leaving, Castle." Her tone quickly turned from soft and loving, to deep, hard, and commanding. "The last time I left you alone in a hospital, you were kidnapped, chained to a chair and tortured, and I will not let that happen again."

"Kate, the guy is dead, what are the odds?" He tried to argue, but his hopes of having her take a little care of herself were quickly fading.

"You and I both know that he was just a pawn. They will send some one else for you, Castle. I'm staying here, and that's final."

"Kate..."

"No, Castle. I won't put you through it again. I lost you once already, I'm not going to lose you again!" Her voice had quickly become soiled with unshed tears that she was forcing back.

"Hey, it's over now." He ushered her over to him, lifting up his arms to invite her in. She hesitated, only for a second, before she sat down at the edge of his bed again, close enough for him to wrap his arms awkwardly around her, with her returning the gesture by placing her own on his shoulders, and burying her face into the bend that his neck was creating. "I'm right here, it's alright." He soothed her. He had done this before with his daughter, but it was different, much different. The last time he did this was when she was ten, and she got her first F on a math test. But this... this was some one's life at stake here. It had taken a large toll on both of them, but he had come to terms with it, for now. He knew he had to be the strong one now. She was always the one having to put on a brave face, and stare down the darkness, often times by diving into it head first. But now, now she had some one to help her push it all back, she had some one there to help her up when she started to fall. He felt her body start to quake with sobs that she was trying to keep contained, and he felt as if his hand that he had been using to rub her back had been in vain. But after a minute or two, she started to quiet down, and her breathing started to even out. "Hey." He urged her back with a soft push on her arms. She looked back at him with puffy, red eyes, and by the look on her face, he knew that right now, she didn't have any restraints put up, no walls to hide behind, no shells left to break. "You're not alone. I'm always going to be here."

She smiled warmly at him and replaced her head on his shoulder. "Come on, lay down." He slowly scooted over to make room for her on the small hospital bed, careful to not make any of his injuries spark out and cause him to wince, because he knew if he did, she would back away. He opened up his side to her and she crawled into it, and placed her head on his shoulders. When she was comfortably tucked into his side, she let her heavy eye lids drift shut.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" She asked in a sleepy voice that made a smile manifest on his face.

"Always." He planted a soft kiss into her hair. "I promise, when you wake up, you will be in a better place, and a better time." She shifted deeper into his embrace, and tightened her grip on his low mid section.

She let out a small hum of bliss before she spoke one last word. "Tighter." He smiled warmly at her sleepy request, which was probably leaked out subconsciously, and tightened his embrace around her. After only a minute or two, her breaths were slow, and steady, and her head lay heavy against his shoulder. He couldn't imagine what she had been through, but she would tell him when she was ready. He just hoped that when she was ready, so was he.

"Richard, dear, we got you some..."

"SHHHH!" He put a finger up to his lips and shushed the pair walking in with a bag of food. He pointed over to his side that cradled Beckett, and Martha quietly tip-toed in and set the bag gently on the floor next to the bed. Alexis poked her head in and stared awkwardly at the couple on the bed, before quietly making her way over to his bed side and placing the two cups of coffee down on the bed side table. He mouthed a thank you, and Alexis made her way over to the other side of the room with her grandmother.

"It's about time she got some rest." Martha spoke in a loud whisper, loud enough to where whispering was pointless, but by the way Beckett didn't even flinch, she was out cold.

"Yeah, she's been through a lot." He said, looking down at her.

"That girl, I swear." Martha trailed off. "If she wasn't head over heels for you, I would call her crazy. But she is truly something special, darling."

"Yeah, she really is." His warm gaze still was fixed on her content expression, as her breath tickled his chest beneath the thin fabric of the medical gown he was wearing.

"Hey Dad, I'm going back home real quick. Is there anything you want me to pick up while I'm there?" Alexis said, making herself known.

"Actually, could you just get me a pad of paper and a pen?"

"Want me to just grab your laptop?"

"No, that's alright. Just a pad of paper and a pen." She made her way back over to him and kissed his forehead. "Thank you, sweetie."

"I'll be back soon. You better be here when I get back."

"I don't think I'm going anywhere." He nodded his head over to the weight that lay sleeping on his chest. Alexis slowly made her way out of the room, quietly clicking the door shut.

"You know, dear, you had us pretty worried there. If it wasn't for her," Martha nodded over to Beckett, and let the sentence fall flat before she placed a hand over her mouth. Regaining her composure as best she could, "She's one of a kind, kiddo." Castle simply let the smile on his face grow a little and replaced his head on top of hers.

"Excuse me?" Came a deep voice from the door way. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Can I help you?" Castle said to the man dressed in a plain black suit.

"Yeah, I'm special agent Sheppard with the FBI, detective Ryan told me I could find you here." Agent Sheppard came to stand in the door way, holding a case file, and a small evidence bag in his hands.

"How can I help you Agent Sheppard?"

"This was sent to my office by Detective Ryan. He told me to decrypt it for him."

"How do you know Ryan?"

"We were on a narcotics bust together a while back. He went to homicide, and I went to the FBI. I'm here because of the files I came across. I would have reported it to my superior but I was told to keep it quiet." Sheppard came to stand by his bed side. He looked down at the woman resting blissfully, cuddled in Castle's side. "I can come back if you want. I realize this might not be the best time, considering the circumstances."

Castle looked over to his mother, who was observing silently, and back at Beckett, making sure she was still asleep. "That would probably be best. How bout you just give your findings to Ryan, and he can fill us in later in the day."

"Okay, I'll have Ryan stop by later in the day then. Feel better, Mr. Castle." Agent Sheppard walked calmly out of the room and closed the door behind him. This certainly had peeked Castle's troublesome curiosity, but right now, the most important thing was lying by his side, enjoying a well deserved rest, and he was not about to disturb her with this again. It was time they put this behind them, and got on with their lives, together.

"This the guy that hired you?" Esposito asked his suspect from across the interrogation room table, before sliding the picture of the man killed in the warehouse over to him. He stayed silent, maintaining a stoic look as he stared at the photo of the man lying on a damp floor, with glassy eyes, and two holes in his chest. "Come on, David. If this is the guy you're so afraid of, he's dead. So just give me his name, and the DA is willing to adjust the charges down to accessory to kidnapping. Looks a hell of a lot better than murder one to me."

"Forget it."

"You do realize that if we can't ID this guy, then this still goes on your head, and you get put away for life. And if I know the DA well enough, he's going to try and push for the death penalty." Blackevitch stayed silent and looked away. "Fine, life it is." Esposito gathered up his files and started for the door.

"I want protection." Esposito quickly turned around in surprise.

"What?"

"If I give you this guys name, I want protection."

"Alright, give me the guys name, and I'll put in a good word."

"No, see, that's not how it works. It's give and take, not take and give. You get me in protective custody, and once I have it in writing, I give you the name." Blackevitch slumped back in his chair and tilted his chin up in confidence. Esposito strode out of interrogation and into Captain Gates office.

"What is it now, Detective?"

"I've got Blackevitch in interrogation, and he wants protection in exchange for the name of the guy who took Castle."

"The man is dead, Detective, why should it matter?" The captain deadpanned.

"Sir, we have reason to believe that this guy is the same guy who shot Beckett last year. We are still waiting on the DNA test to confirm, but we're certain it's him."

"So why is this guy's name so important all of the sudden?"

"Sir, we get this guys name, we may get a lead as to who hired him." Gates let out a long sigh and stared the detective down.

"This is a long shot, you realize that, don't you, Detective?"

"It's one I'm willing to take, sir."

"Alright," Gates picked up her phone. "Tell Blackevitch he got his protection, I'll talk to the DA. Get me a name, Esposito." Esposito quickly nodded and made his way back into interrogation, where Blackevitch was in the same position he was left in.

"Alright, start talking." Espo walked to the front of the table, and stopped dead in his tracks. "I need some help in here!" Espo quickly drew his gun and ran out into the hall way.

"What is it?" Ryan came running up, just about to draw his own gun.

"Lock this place down, Blackevitch has just been shot."

A/N: For those fellow browncoats out there: Yes, I was thinking of Sheppard Booke for the FBI agent :)

I am hoping to get Castle and Beckett out of the hospital soon. It took me a long time to get the conversation right. Everything else I wrote didn't really fit right. So, I hope this works for you guys. Please let me know by REVIEWING :D

~Major.