A.N. Hello, All! Exciting News, I now have a Beta Reader, AgentFraniJones. She is fantastic and is helping me so much. Hopefully, my writing improves and I'm better at getting chapters up on time. It's easier to update when you feel you're accountable to someone.

Please let me know what you guys think of the chapter. Your opinions mean a lot to me. Hopefully, I'll update soon. I'll also be going back and fixing some problems with previous chapters.

Also, I've been wondering whether it would be worth it to post this story on Archive of our own. I've read a lot on that site, but never posted. They've got some quality work there, but I'm not sure whether my work should be on there. Please let me know what your opinion is. Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: I know these are annoying to post and read, but I don't own Castle and this is purely fan based work.

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.

Cuffed

Being a cop is tough. There are days when you don't know if you're coming home, and there are days you pray to whoever is listening that you still have a home to come to. It's like tearing down the walls of a cell only to find a new, even bigger cell you've got to tear down and the bricks won't stop coming. Sometimes, you get a friend, a partner, to rip at the wall with you. If you're lucky you get a whole team, working together to bring the walls down. And it stings, no, it burns, when that team is taken. The moment that Ryan and Esposito knew that Beckett and Castle had been taken from them, the burn started. It started and it flamed up when they picked up clues. Each new piece of information was a piece of kindling, keeping the fire going. Every time they made a move, the sparks flew up again.

Sometimes, fires can be good. They keep you warm, they give you light. Both of the boys would be lying if they said they didn't remember building campfires when they were younger. But fires can also destroy. A fire in the heart can burn away at you. It can burn your brain so much that all that remains is worry. In the ride from place to place, searching frantically for Castle and Beckett, the fire was slowly eating at the boys. This was the second time in four years that members of that team, that family, had gone missing. Each in their own minds gave a silent thanks that it was not them for a second time. Then, they each remembered what capture had been like for them. Esposito pressed harder into the gas. They had no idea whether where they were headed was the right place or, even if it was right, whether Castle and Beckett had managed to hold on this long. Ryan looked over at his partner.

"Do you think they're okay?"

Esposito stayed focused on the road ahead of him, not allowing himself to react further than a terse reply.

"I don't know, bro."

They were both silent after that. By the time they made it to the fourth property they were set to search, the tension was palpable, both worrying what each lost minute was costing them in the long run.

"817 Finshel Drive. Industrial building foreclosed on 8 months ago."

"Looks empty, just like the last three places."

"Let's do a walk-around, see if there's anything in the back."

"Yeah."

The two continued a terse silence, until Ryan saw a window. Wiping it clean, he spotted a truck inside, a truck that could mean that this was the place they were looking for. Relief and fear pushed through his body. They had found where they were being held, but actually being there brought home all of the potential consequences of a rescue. This could become a hostage situation, one that Castle didn't need to be in so soon after the bank. They could already be dead. The captors could go after Esposito… right, Esposito. He figured that he should probably call him over.

"Esposito, over here." This, more than anything else, showed the Latino how worried his partner was. Ryan never called him Esposito unless it was very specific circumstances. This was not that. Espo jogged over to see the truck. The same jolt ran through his veins.

"Call for backup."

The two turned around, walking back to the car. It was stupid to try and go after whoever was there without backup, the two could be killed, and besides, if this did turn into a hostage situation, neither of them was trained to deal with it. Sure, they could talk down a man with a gun, but full blown was never part of the deal. As they were leaving, Ryan heard a faint yell coming from behind them.

"Wait, Listen. Do you hear that?" He had stopped and turned toward the noise. Espo wasted no time.

"Yeah." He stepped in front of Ryan, his gun up, searching for the origin of the screams, silently praying that they weren't what he thought they were. He didn't know whether to hope they were from Castle and Beckett or that they weren't. Moving as fast as is safe with a gun pointed out, the two pushed through the ominous compound until they found the source: A door in the ground. Esposito prayed it open. A wave of relief coursed through him as he realized that they were alive. The happiness that he had begun to feel then suddenly dropped as he saw the giant cat pawing at the side of their metal stand. Confusion and shock replaced his previous feelings. Unsure as to handle a tiger situation, and a little embarrassed at how squeaky his voice had gone, Esposito's mind went into overdrive.

Then, he heard the snap of a shotgun, and suddenly, everything became clearer. His gun was already pointed at the old women aiming straight for his partner. Ryan was right beside him.

"Drop the hardware, boys, or I'll blow you both away."

She was calm. Very calm. She had a purpose to her actions, she wasn't going to be talked down easily. Ryan's jaw was tight. Later, he would wonder why he didn't think about losing Jenny, or losing Javi, or losing his life, or Castle, or Beckett, or any other stupid dying man's regrets, because it didn't look like this would be an easy fix. But his mind was empty, cursed with the blessing of focus. All he could think about was that woman with her gun pointed at him and his brother. He could barely hear the screams for help from the hatch beside them.

Then something snapped. The initial shock of the gun was gone, and all that was left was a calm fury, a knowledge that they were highly trained officers of the law, and by God, he wasn't going to let himself or his partner get shot.

"Put your weapon down!"

"Doesn't matter which one of us you shoot first. Whoever is left standing will kill you."

And there it was. The essential fact of the two of them. The two men lived their lives on the line, risked everything to find justice and help others, all with the knowledge that if something happened to them, no matter what, their brother had their back.

"Maybe I'll shoot the pretty one first."

That caught them off guard. Neither knew whether that threat was against them, or their brother.

"Luckily, I don't gotta choose."

A man, hefty with a beer gut and a buzz cut stepped out from behind a barrel, gun pointed straight at Ryan.

"Y'all put 'em down."

Ryan had already turned to face him.

"You first."

"Let's just kill 'em, Ma." Another man, scrawnier but still armed, and aimed at Ryan, appeared on a metal walkway above them. Ryan adjusted his aim. They were outnumbered. This was turning ugly. "Let Tony the Tiger have at the others like we planned."

Esposito was livid. He kept his cool, you had to in situations like this, but he was seething. Three against two?

"Your boys shoot, I swear the last thing I do is put a bullet through your head. Your choice." He threatened. Sometimes, when someone has a gun on you, you plead, you reason. You tell them that they don't want to go to jail for killing a cop, they don't want that to be their life. Other times, you threatened. Being a cop is not a shield to these people. It's a sword. Sometimes, you've got to let them know that the sword will come down on them if they don't do what you want.

"You New Yorkers ain't nearly as scary as a Texas lawman. That being said, I'm bettin' more of you are gonna be here soon. So I'm gonna tell you what's gonna happen. Me and my boys are gonna back on out of here. You either get yourselves killed trying to stop us, or you can forget all about us and go save your friends. That's your choice."

The gunmen started moving. Ryan could feel the anger rolling off Esposito in waves. He knew that his partner wanted to go after them, but he couldn't, the woman was right. If they did, and it was definitely they, Ryan wouldn't abandon him, they would be killed. And Castle and Beckett would die. It would be bloodshed for no purpose but anger. That was no way to die.

"Javi." Ryan said, hoping that his partner would take the lead like he had many times before and make the impossible decision

They heard a loud scream come from the hatch. Ryan wanted to turn and see what had happened, but there was still a chance, a very good chance that the gunmen would shoot if his gun went off them.

Then Esposito made up his mind.

"Let 'em go." He put down his gun and ran to the hatch. Ryan, still nervous, pointed his gun back at the exiting gunmen before turning to help his friend.