Second Castle fanfic :D This is gonna be two chapters, hope people read and review!

Yeesh. Talk about friends 'til the end, Richard Castle thought bitterly as Detectives Ryan and Esposito, all decked out in Elvis attire (which had been his brilliant idea, thank you very much) stammered and made excuses to leave the media room. For a moment, he felt a tinge of pride; the two big bad cops were fleeing while he, the civilian, who, according to a certain captain that shall remain nameless, was just a joke and a distraction to the police force, stayed to face the music. That feeling only lasted a second though, as he abruptly realized that he was screwed.

Most of the time he relished in the fact that he was taller than all three of the homicide detectives that he worked with, but at the present moment in time, he'd have been okay with being shorter than Ryan, even, as the two muscular bodyguards blocked his escape. Castle watched wistfully at Ryan and Esposito, already down the hallway, not even looking back to see if their friend was following.

Well, that didn't matter. It's not like they would actually hurt him. He chuckled at the very thought. He could easily talk his way out of this, in any case. He'd done it before...actually, he hadn't really realized how often he got himself into precarious situations until now. Hmm. Before he could open his mouth, however, muscle 1 and 2 had grabbed his arms and begun forcefully dragging him through the door and down the hallway.

Okay, they may have been the same height as himself, but their strength still surprised him. Hands clamped like manacles under his arms and despite how much he struggled, he couldn't break free. Castle dug in his heels, hoping to halt their progress towards the ominous looking door at the end of the hallway.

He was reminded of a very similar experience; whilst searching for a dirty bomb that had the potential to destroy most of New York City, Kate and him had been searching a storage unit and had been exposed to high levels of radiation. He'd been 'escorted' to a room, much like this time. Except, that time, he'd had Beckett for company. Now he had...no one. The same surge of fear that he'd felt during that brief time was back again, building in the pit of his stomach.

His attempts at slowing the men down were being proven to be fruitless, so he went boneless instead, letting his whole body weight hang limply in their arms. If it affected them, they didn't show it, not by the expressions on the face or the gait at which they were moving. He really wished that he was out of his Elvis costume now. He felt stupid as the door was pushed open and the men shoved him inside, nearly causing him to fall. Fixing his wig, he was going to shoot a glare back at them, but his eyes were caught on the object that Turner was holding. Oh crap.

Didn't mean anything. He probably just liked baseball and was practicing his swings for the next time at the batting cages. Or practicing his swing for the next person he decides is in his way, he thought morbidly. Yep. Castle swallowed nervously, not able to tear his gaze from the heavy piece of wood.

"You were told what would happen if you came back here. Now, I'm not stupid enough to beat on cops, but you on the other hand, are a different story. I want my money, Mr. Castle, so you better tell me everything you know."

Turner said, his eyes narrowed menacingly. The feeling in the pit of Castle's stomach grew as the bat almost touched his chest. This was not good. Okay brain, this would be a good time to unfreeze and starting talking me out of this situation, Castle pleaded inside his head. He glanced back at the two body guards that stood by the door. This wasn't really happening, right? No way this could be real. Castle turned back to Turner, just in time to see the baseball bat coming straight for his face. Before he could do anything, like dodge or duck, it made contact with his head.

"Ahhhhhgggggggggghhh!"

He cried out as his head snapped back from the force and he fell to his knees. Fuck, that hurt. He didn't swear very often, but right now, he wanted to yell out all of the curse words he knew. Immediately, he could feel his left eye swelling up and a constant and painful throb started in his head. At least I've still got all my teeth, he thought sarcastically, running his tongue across them. A sudden copper taste entered his mouth and he grimaced, realizing that his nose had started bleeding. Pain was radiating from his entire face.

Castle groaned in pain and clutched his nose. Okay, no, that was a bad idea, he thought belatedly as a shock of pain shot through his skull.

"Urggg..." He moaned, content on not touching anything on his face for the moment. He looked up through his one eye that wasn't swollen at Turner. No...wait, there were two Turners now. Concussion, great.

"Look, theress no need f'that. I'm sure we can work thi' out like gen'lem-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as all the breath suddenly left his body as the bat (he was having a hard time even remembering why these things were even created) struck him in the midsection. He was already on his knees, so it was a short trip to the carpet, where he wrapped an arm around around his ribs and forced the prickling in his eyes back. He was not going to cry over a couple of love taps. It hadn't even hurt that much. He'd felt more pain when he'd fallen out of that tree when he was ten and broken his arm. Castle rolled over and peered up at Turner again. He looked out of breath. Poor guy, Castle thought sarcastically. The bat came down again, this time on his right arm, which was still trying to keep his ribs in check. His mouth opened wide as a crack echoed throughout the room, not able to voice the pain that was clouding his mind. He wheezed, thinking ironically on the subject he'd just been comparing this too. Now it hurt as bad as the time he'd broken his arm. Something struck his ribs again, but it wasn't the bat...the bat that was idle by Turner's side, speckled with blood. His blood. Castle shuddered at the thought. Ah, that would be his expensive shoes that were making him want to puke his guts out. So nice. This meant that either Turner was winding down, or he was just getting started. Everything was jumbled in Castle's head. He heard a crack, but he wasn't sure where it came from. He really wished Beckett were here right now, and not just because she had a gun and a badge.

The foot came back down, this time on his neck, pushing the air out of his battered body. His arm quickly came up to his neck and grasped the ankle, desperate to free himself. He was not dying this way. He'd always imagined himself going out in a hail of bullets or something equally as dramatic, like his book characters.

Castle wasn't sure if it was the concussion or the lack of air, but he wasn't able to budge the expensive rubber and Italian leather that was currently making him see spots. He heard something slam dimly in the background and then Beckett's voice. That made him smile contentedly. He had it bad. His consciousness was slipping away, but at least he got to hear Kate's voice before he went. Wait...no, she sounded angry. Really angry. He'd heard that voice a couple of times directed at him, but most of the time at uncooperative suspects. Other voices had joined Kate's, he realized, and they were all so loud. He wanted to tell them to be quiet, because this was not making his headache feel better, but he couldn't really remember how to form words. Wait. He could breath. Okay, no, that was an exaggeration. He could cough and wheeze. And that's what he did. Gaping like a fish out of water, Castle curled in on himself. Coughing did not help the pain. It took him awhile to start breathing semi-regularly again and when he did, he realized that someone was talking to him, calling his name, a thin delicate hand resting comfortingly on his shoulder. Kate. He slowly straightened himself out. If Kate was there, he was dead or safe. He hoped he was still alive, he still had he wanted to see and do. See Alexis get married...finish the Nikki Heat series...kiss Kate again...

Right, Kate was still talking to him.

"Rick, Rick! Castle, are you okay?"

She inquired, her voice quiet but urgent. He blinked his one good eye and peered over her shoulder, where he spied two very blurry detectives cuffing Turner and his bodyguards. Well, he was still alive, then. He was pretty sure that if he were dead, he'd have been somewhere on a beach with Kate.

How did Kate do it? Even when she was out of focus, she was still breathtakingly beautiful. He grinned, dazed. He was positive that he looked horrible right now, but he was just happy that she was here.

"Hey."

He croaked, wincing at the pain that flashed through his face and throat as he did so. His voice was the opposite of the strong, deep baritone that it usually was (at least, in his opinion); instead, it came out as a breathy whisper. At his flinch, Beckett's eyes began roaming his face and throat, cataloging his injuries. When her eyes rested on his neck, he knew that someone was getting punched. Her gorgeous face clouded with anger and her head swung around sharply, her hair flowing and the wonderful scent of cherries wafting over Castle's face. She wasn't mad at him, right? He didn't think he'd done anything wrong. His brain was too jumbled to be too sure of that, though. He was sure that he still looked stupid in his Elvis costume. Her shoulders were so tense and he could feel her fury. He came to the conclusion that it wasn't him that she was angry at, since she wasn't directing her death glare at him for once. It was a nice change of pace.

"The paramedics will be here in a minute, Castle. Don't worry, you're going to be fine."

He could hear the underlying panic that was in her voice and wished he could comfort her in some way. But then what she had said clicked in his brain. Paramedics? No thank you. He was just fine. He sat up slowly, only using his left arm, preparing himself for the arduous journey ahead. His right arm hung limply at his side, agonizing pain still blurring his vision; he didn't even want to look at the damage.

"No, that's 'kay, m'fine. Can'ou juss...can'ou help me get up?"

He asked, not waiting for her response (which he was sure would have been no) and planting his one good hand on the ground. He managed to get to his knees and stopped for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside. He took a deep breath, his chest hurting just from that simple action. Alright, now he wasn't feeling alright. Suddenly he couldn't breath again. Not good. He started listing to the side before someone halted his progress. Castle didn't get a chance to thank whoever it was, as his vision quickly darkened and he was out.