Author's note: I knew I wanted to do something for this, because really, what we got in the episode was so dissatisfying pertaining to this. I needed closure.

I don't know where this came from though. I was just watching TV and the 'how to do this' just popped into my head for no reason. I'm not complaining though. Honestly I don't remember the last time a fic was so easy to write for me. I may have written this all up in an hour, or two. I don't know, I lost track of time, it was glorious. X)

Anyway, hope you guys like this little one-shot I wrote for 'Knockdown'. I am 100% positive this happened before they cut to Beckett checking on Castle and no one will tell me otherwise. XP

Sorry, there's no Castle in this one; just fluffy family moments between New York's Finest. :3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

No slash, just friendship.

Loyal To No End

Beckett's rapid footsteps thumbed in time with her pounding heart. Her breath was coming in short pants, appearing before her mouth in a white fog through the cold air. The brightly flashing squad and ambulance lights against the dark contrast of the surrounding chilled night made her eyes throb, but she didn't dare blink away from her search of the horizon of police vehicles. The very fact that they were even there was the only thing keeping her panic just below the surface, and her feet from bursting into a frantic run in no clear direction. She just had to see them, to make sure they were okay.

The previous moments flashed before Beckett's mind; bursting into that warehouse, seeing her partners bound and at the mercy of those men. Instinct kicked in before her mind even processed what she was seeing; a man holding a rope around Esposito's neck, pulling him away; a man looming over Ryan with a gun, cocked and aimed. Her finger pulled the trigger before she realized she had aimed at the man, and she watched the villain fall to the ground with a shocked relief.

The rest of the raid had been a large blur for Beckett, after that. Adrenaline and training helped her through the gunfight, and the rest of her squad took over from there. She had barely caught a glimpse of her teammates being cut loose before they were fully surrounded by the paramedics and fellow officers. Then she was ushered out of the warehouse as the rest of the team made their arrests and her partners were taken to get proper care.

Beckett stood outside the warehouse where an officer had left her, for maybe ten whole minutes before the night had caught up with her, and she had to see if her partners were okay. So she began her search through the chaotic mass of cops and ambulances, for anything that would lead her to her friends.

"Detective Beckett?" An officer had called out to Beckett, quickly approaching the slightly disoriented woman tossing about in the middle of everything. He received no response and reached out to her, brushing his fingertips against her arm to gain her attention.

Beckett jumped at the sudden contact, finally registering the fellow officer before her. She didn't recognize his face or his nametag as she turned to him, and she frowned in a foggy confusion.

"Detective Beckett?" The officer asked again, more soft and concerning than his first attempt. Understanding and sympathy shone in his eyes as he stared down the barely coherent young woman, looking lost and panicked.

"Uh, sorry, what?" Beckett frowned at the man, impatience convulsing her body, preventing her from standing completely still.

"You're looking for your friends." The officer stated more than asked, as if helping ground her jumpy mind on her current task. Then he turned and pointed off to a nearby ambulance. "Detectives Esposito are Ryan are in that ambulance there." He turned further right, down the street. "And Mr. Castle is in that one there." He turned back to Beckett and offered a small smile. "The Detectives will be on their way to the hospital as soon as possible." He added; a clear message suggesting that she visit them first before checking on Castle. Though she had already planned on that anyway.

At first Beckett didn't move; suddenly her feet were glued to the ground, her eyes stuck on the spot the officer had pointed to. Suddenly, she didn't know if she wanted to see her partners just yet; to see the condition they were in, to have that image burned into her mind for later viewing in her nightmares.

Another sympathetic smile graced the officer's face, and he gently placed his hand on Beckett's arm, urging her towards the vehicle that held her friends. "They're gonna be okay." He whispered.

Beckett, having been forced to take a single step forward by the officer's guiding pull, swallowed thickly, finally turning to the man next to her. Again he offered her a comforting smile, and finally she responded with a grateful nod, before he left her. Slowly, she took another step forward, and then another, and another, until she was up to the wide-opened doors of the vehicle's back. Then, carefully, she peeked in, preparing herself for whatever she may see, that will be burned into her sub-conscious for restless nights to come.

Only, as it was right then, there was nothing horrible in Beckett's immediate line of sight. Esposito was sat on the right side bench of the ambulance's back, a blanket draped lazily over his shoulders. From the overhead light, Beckett could see the shimmering of his red-rubbed neck as he spoke animatedly to his car companion, obviously some form of topical cream to ease the burning. That alone sent a small shiver through her body. Though despite the injury and the horrible events of the night, Esposito spoke with that same life and light in his eyes as he would any other day. To see Esposito so normal eased Beckett's nerves and worry and everything more than she thought possible.

Walking further around, catching a better angle, Beckett caught the other side of the ambulance, the left side bench buried under a shaking pile of blankets. Beckett couldn't see the person laying there on his side, but their trembling voice reached her ears and her heart seemed to shake as much as the voice did, despite its lighthearted tone.

"D-dude, it's j-just a c-couch." Ryan was saying shakily.

Esposito shook his head. "We've been over this, man. That thing could be infested with all kinds of stuff!"

Ryan let out a shuddering sigh. "I h-had it c-cleaned." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't matter." Esposito said stubbornly. "We're playing at my place, and that's final."

"Y-your p-place is s-so s-small." Ryan complained.

Beckett couldn't help the sentimental smile crossing her lips. Her boys; acting so normal, just like it was every other day. She clung to their petty argument about what she assumed was video games, letting it ground her as she leaned against the opening of the ambulance.

The movement however, seemed to attract attention and Esposito finally spotted her, his eyes lighting up. "Beckett!" He announced happily. "It's good to see you." He offered her a small smile.

Beckett smiled back, but it barely reached her eyes. "Hey." She said, slowly straightening. "It's good to see you, too." She said sincerely, though gulped down with her next dreaded question. "How are you guys holding up?"

Esposito waved his hand idly at her. "Aaah, we've had worse." He offered his hand down to her nonchalantly.

The action was so natural that Beckett instinctly clasped Esposito and allowed him to help lift her up into the ambulance, sitting next to him. She didn't notice that she'd sub-consciously sat so close to him that their thighs were touching, and if he noticed he didn't say anything, nor did he bother to move any further from her.

Actually in the vehicle sitting right next to them, Beckett really got to see her partners up close, and she had to swallow the gasp upon seeing the full extent of their states in the bright roof lights of the ambulance. Esposito's burn shone with an angry, thick, red line, all around his neck. Right up next to him, Beckett could clearly catch all the winces he tried to hide as he swallowed, his Adam's Apple bobbing up and down roughly, not as smoothly as it should, and whenever he moved his neck the wrong way and it pulled on the abused skin. She turned away from the gruesome sight, only to regret it a second later.

If Beckett thought Esposito was bad, then Ryan was ten times worse. The thick wool blankets buried and shielded everything but his head, and even then, half of it was hidden behind the oxygen mask. Ryan's entire body shook so violently that it was like he was on his own personal earthquake. From what Beckett could see, his hair was still wet and matted, despite the clear attempts to dry it, if the ruffled curls and oddly spiked ends were anything to go by. But what scared Beckett most was the moon-pale skin, and lazily blinking eyes. His eyelids fluttered constantly, as if he were fighting the battle to stay awake. His skin looked white as snow; if Beckett hadn't have known better she could have easily mistaken him for one of Lanie's table-toppers. The full illusion playing with Beckett's mind, she couldn't help but fear that the last time Ryan's eyes fluttered closed, they wouldn't open up again.

"Hey, B-Beckett." Ryan rasped upon seeing her.

Oh god, his voice was so weak and scratchy and not-Ryan. For probably the hundredth time that night Beckett had to physically gulp down the overwhelming emotions. Even those two words seemed to fill those normally bright blue eyes with poorly masked pain, obviously due to the frigid water still burning his lungs. Beckett subtly glared at the oxygen mask resting over his nose and mouth, clearly not doing its job sufficiently enough.

It wasn't until she felt a small pressure on her knee, and looked to the hand that squeezed her, then to the gentle gaze of Esposito that Beckett realized that she'd been staring, and still hadn't responded to Ryan. A warmth flushed her face as her cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. "Hey." She finally replied. "You doing okay?" She cringed at the stupid question but didn't regret it as her mind still needed the verbal confirmation from her injured partner.

Ryan smiled at her, though it was small and weak, and he nodded. "Yeah." He said gently, his comforting effort overpowering the terrifying trembles that never stopped convulsing his body. "I'm o-okay."

Beckett knew full well that he was just saying so to ease her worries, and damnit she just let herself believe it because she was sure she was on the verge of going crazy. She allowed her tense body to relax against Esposito's side as he wrapped an arm around her, the blanket coming with it and shielding her from the chill in the air. She forced herself to stop thinking about that very chill that was probably hurting Ryan right now, despite his blanket fort piled on top of him.

"So, did they get them all?" Esposito broke the small silence, as casually as he could. Though everyone in that ambulance knew he wanted to know if those creeps had finally been brought to justice.

Beckett smiled, finally relieving in the knowledge that she could at least bring her hurting friends this comfort. "Yep. Every last one of them is off to their own little prison cell as we speak. They won't hurt anyone again."

Ryan and Esposito both sighed in unison and Beckett smiled proudly at her partners' ever-constant synchronicity. "Good." Esposito ground out, though he tried to play it off more calmly than that. Not that anyone blamed his bitterness towards his tormentors.

"Yeah." Ryan agreed with the same sardonic tone. "'Least th-they'll g-get what's c-comin' t-to them." A sudden wet cough tore through his throat, leading to a violent fit that shook his form and rattled his aching lungs painfully, forcing tears to his tightly-sealed eyes.

That tightening panic gripped Beckett's heart again at seeing her friend in such a state. Instinctively, both her and Esposito threw a hand to Ryan's side, steadying him and keeping him from rolling off the bench, while also trying to offer any comfort possible as the coughing seemed to rage through his body forever.

A paramedic appeared at the mouth of the ambulance then, quickly jumping into the back and reaching over the two detectives' steadying hands to the oxygen tank sitting on the floor by the bench. He wrenched the tap on the top with one turn of his wrist, causing a hissing sound that traveled from the long cylindrical tank through the small tube and into the mask covering Ryan's face. The harsh coughing seemed to lighten just a bit then, allowing Ryan enough respite to gasp in the new amount of fresh air, filling his rattling lungs greedily.

The paramedic took a step back then, but Beckett turned her barely-contained fearful eyes on the young man before he could disappear. "What's wrong with him?"

The paramedic in turn, offered his hands up in a calming gesture. "He's just expelling the excess water in his lungs. The time he spent under the ice water was enough for him to inhale quite a bit, and give him mild hypothermia. But we got to them in time. We've managed to stop it from turning severe; however he could still catch pneumonia so we should start heading off now." The paramedic said apologetically, regretting having to break up the detectives and their time.

Beckett turned back to Ryan with worry, watching the slow rise and fall of the mound on top of him, and hearing the shallow and raspy gasps for air piercing her ears. All instinct told her to just strap herself in and stay with her partners and never let them out of her sight again. They couldn't get hurt again if she was always there to protect them. But then there was that nagging little common sense guy in the back of her head, telling her that there wasn't enough room in the back with Esposito and the paramedics that needed to monitor her partners and their conditions, to allow her to tag along. Not to mention she still had to check on Castle.

Again, lost in her thoughts, Beckett forgot to respond until a freezing hand landed on the hand she still had braced on that mound of blankets to keep it from falling. The sudden cold startled her and she looked up to see Ryan's tired and teary eyes staring at her, the oxygen mask fogging up rhythmically. He offered her a small nod, too exhausted to accomplish anything grander than that. "I'm o-okay." He half-whispered, half-breathed.

Another hand landed on her shoulder and Beckett turned around to Esposito's gentle smile. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him." He squeezed her shoulder for extra comfort, urging her to believe him.

Beckett looked between her two partners, lost. She knew Esposito would in fact take excellent care of Ryan, just as she knew he did during their captivity. But that didn't mean she wasn't still afraid that if she left that ambulance, they'd disappear on her again, without her there to protect them. Or at least, to comfort them. Though as she felt each squeeze from the hands on her arm, she realized then that they were the ones comforting her. She was the one that needed them, not the other way around. The sudden thought terrified her even more.

Esposito leaned down to Beckett's ear slowly, then. "It's okay." He whispered softly, and right then Beckett could have sworn he read her mind. He moved his arm from her shoulder to reach around again and pull her into his side, squeezing her in a hug, and kissing her head paternally. She leaned into him and used her other hand not held by the icicle that was currently Ryan, to grip Esposito's jacket, almost desperately. The actions spoke louder than anything, and Beckett understood clearly; 'It's okay that you need us. We're not going anywhere. We're okay. We're sticking with you 'til the end'.

They pulled away and Beckett brought her other hand to encase Ryan's freezing one, hoping to replicate the same contact as her and Esposito's hug, without having to stress Ryan with too much moving. Another weak smile graced his too-blue lips and he nodded to her, trying to communicate with as much strength and determination he could muster that he would be okay until she saw him again.

Beckett lingered with her partners for a moment longer, before she finally, reluctantly pulled herself away, and stood to exit the ambulance.

"B-Beckett." Ryan's weak call stopped Beckett just as she jumped onto the granite road below, and she turned to him expectantly. "Th-thanks,". He stuttered out. "For s-saving my. . .l-leg, b-back th-there." A smirk tugged at his lips, and for a brief moment, Beckett saw that Ryan-spark flare up in his eyes. Looking over, she saw the same thing with her other partner; that distinct Esposito-smirk and light in his eyes that she knew and loved all too well.

Beckett smiled, a real, genuine smile, filled with relief and joy that her team had survived this night. She nodded. "Of course. I'm always here when you need me."

Esposito nodded back at her. "Right back at ya."

And as the ambulance doors closed off the bright smiles of her partners, her own grin lifted her cheeks and her heart, she knew, they were all going to be okay. Because her partners were infinitely stronger than she or anyone else had given them credit for, and she was eternally grateful to have them on her side.