When Kevin Ryan ran into Victor Racine's office building, gun drawn, adrenaline pumping, he had no idea what he was expecting to see. He wanted to see his partner waiting outside the building for the back-up that he knew was coming. He wanted to see his partner safe on the ground floor. He knew what he wanted to see, but deep down he knew he wouldn't see it.

Holliwell had gotten off the elevators as Ryan entered the lobby. He was holding a gun and a briefcase. The blood pounding in Ryan's ears kept him from hearing exactly what Holliwell had said. He knew the dirty cop had accused Esposito of being involved with Thorton the whole time. Ryan wanted to defend his partner. He wanted to yell 'Bull Shit' at Holliwell and then push the man into traffic, but he knew that wasn't going to help Esposito... Where was his partner? That's when the wheels clicked in Ryan's mind.

"Where is Esposito!" He remembered shouting that. He remembered putting pressure near the gun shot wound to Holliwell's side. When Holliwell didn't give him an answer, Ryan ran for the stairs. He vaguely remembered Castle behind him. As Ryan took the stairs two at a time, he could only wonder what had happened in Racine's office.

The horrible thought flashing through his mind was that it was Javi. His Javi had been shot. He said 'His Javi' and he knew there was nothing gay about it. Sure, his siblings had snickered behind their hands when he had introduced Javier to them one Thanksgiving as 'my partner'. The fact he wasn't dating anyone at the time didn't help. And now the fan sites dedicated to Ryan and Esposito's fictional doppelgangers were just adding to the ridiculous rumours. They weren't just partners, they were brothers.

He reached the fifth flight of stairs, but kept going. He couldn't slow down. He needed to get to his partner. He was kicking himself for not pushing to go with Esposito. Damn it, he was supposed to be there 'til the wheels fell off. That's what they promised each other. He heard Castle calling after him, but he didn't stop. He had to be there, to keep the wheels from falling off.

When he reached the last flight of stairs, Ryan remembered hearing himself yelling. He was shouting his partner's name. If it had been physically possible after running up countless flights of stairs, Ryan would be holding his breath; hoping to hear his partner's voice answering back.

It had been only a minute or two since Ryan had left Holliwell in the lobby, but it felt like an eternity. He could hear Castle gasping for breath behind him. Besides the wheezing from the writer, Ryan couldn't hear anything. The silence weighing on him. He began to try and think of what he would tell Javi's family. He began to think about what he would do without his partner. Then he kicked himself. Javi wasn't dead. Javi wasn't shot. Javi was fine. He had to be...

The silence was broken by a single shout. "We're in here. Officer down!" Apparently it was possible to hold your breath after running up stairs, because Ryan felt himself exhale. He made a dash for the direction of the voice, his partner's voice.

He pulled the radio off his belt. "William 16, William 16, need an ambulance at 3471 Houston." It wasn't Javi, it was Ike. Part of Ryan was elated it wasn't his partner.

"Ike Thorton, this is my partner Ryan, and this is my other partner Castle." Esposito made the introductions.

Ryan glanced up and gave Esposito a goofy grin. The kind of grin you have on your face after getting done at the dentist when the cavity had been filled and you hadn't died while being drilled on. The kind of grin you had after a long test that wasn't as horrible as you had made it out to be.

The wheels hadn't fallen off. They were still partners. Everything was fine.

FIN