A/N – So if you don't care for angst, then you won't care for this at all. Me? I love angst, as my followers can attest. So read on at your own risk. Based partially on a Tumblr prompt.

Disclaimer: Do not own Castle. Really looking forward to the Two-Parter though.

xxxxxxxx

Prompt: Battered, bloodied, and bruised, Kate Beckett shows up at Castle's door. What happened? Set late season 3. Not a finale fic.

It was around 3am and Castle was still writing. The inspiration hadn't stopped flowing since they had returned from LA two weeks ago. He couldn't stop the ideas from flowing. He had been writing for hours without a break when he thought he heard a knock at the door. Figuring that he was simply imagining things he ignored it and kept on writing.

A few minutes later it came again. Now he knew that he wasn't imagining it. He sat his laptop down and rushed towards the door. He knew that whoever it was had a good reason for knocking at this late hour. He looked through the peephole, and didn't see anyone, so he opened the door just to check. Looking left and right he didn't see anyone. As he went to close the door, he looked down and saw Kate Beckett slumped against the wall. Her face was bloody, she had two black eyes, and her hair was all over the place.

Immediately, he knelt down beside her. She was still conscious, her eyes looking off far into the distance. There were tears running down her cheeks.

"God, Kate, what happened?" Her clothes were soaked as if it might be raining outside, and she was shivering from the cold. "Let's get you inside. Can you walk?" She still didn't answer him, so he put one arm under her knees and another around her back and lifted her into his arms. He carried her into his apartment and shut the door behind them with one of his feet.

He carried her to his bedroom and gently laid her on the bed. "Kate," he said, kneeling down so he was face to face with her. "You're going to be okay. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. We need to get you out of these clothes, you're freezing."

"No!" she shouted, bolting upright. He put his arms on her shoulders and she shrank back from him, scooting across the bed so that he couldn't touch her.

"Kate, please." He didn't know what to do. She had obviously wanted his help, but maybe she hadn't realized that she had even walked to his place. Someone had done this to her, and he would find out who that was. No one did this to his detective. He walked around to the other side of the bed, but he didn't touch her. "Kate, look at me please."

Slowly she met his gaze, tears still falling down her face. Her breathing was coming in short gasps, and it seemed like she was on the brink of a panic attack. "That's good, Kate. Now keep looking at me, and breathe in when I breathe in, and out when I breathe out." He took in a deep breath and saw that she tried to do the same, he let it out. He repeated that, with her following him, until her breathing returned to a somewhat normal rhythm. "Good. Now, do you want to change into some dry clothes? I have some sweats and a sweatshirt that will be a lot warmer than what you're wearing."

She kept looking into his eyes, but nodded.

"Okay, I'll grab them." He needed to get her changed first so that he could find out where she was hurt and if she needed to see a doctor. He might have recommended that to begin with, but from what he had seen her frame of mind wouldn't be helped by parading her in front of a bunch of strangers.

He returned with the clothes, and pointed towards the bathroom. "You can change in there. There are towels hanging up so you can dry your hair. Okay?"

She nodded, still silent, and grabbed the clothes from his arms. She still didn't touch him, avoiding even his fingers.

About 10 minutes later, she came out in the fresh clothes, tears still running down her cheeks. He stood from where he had been sitting on the edge of the bed. "Kate? What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Josh." Rick clenched his jaw, and stepped towards her.

"I'll kill him."

"No. No. I don't want you to go to jail."

He took a deep breath in, and sat back down on the bed. He nodded. "Where are you hurt besides your face? Did he hurt you anywhere else? Do you need to see a doctor?"

"No! No doctors, please, Rick, please."

"Okay. Okay. We need to get some bandages then and get those cuts cleaned up." He walked past her into the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit. He returned to the bedroom and sat next to her on the bed.

"Is it okay, if I help you do this?" He asked, gently.

"Yes. I'm sorry for skidding away from you before," she said, her head down.

"Don't you apologize for this, Kate. We'll get you fixed up, we'll figure out what to do about Dr. Douche. Will you tell me what happened? You don't have to if you don't want to," he added, knowing that she might not want to share. While he was talking he applied some anti-infection cream to one of the cuts above her eye after dabbing it with a wet cloth.

"I'll tell you. Let's just finish first, okay?"

"Anything, Kate. Are the injuries only on your face?" He had never gotten her to answer that before.

She shook her head. "My ribs. They aren't broken I don't think."

"God, Kate. I – can I see? We need to make sure you don't need a doctor. I know a guy if you do that can do this in private."

She lifted her shirt to just under her breasts. He gasped, seeing dark purple bruises covering the entirety of her chest. "Lanie will help me hide his body, you sure I can't kill him?" He put his hand softly against one of her ribs to check for breaks.

"I'm sure," she said quietly, flinching away from his touch.

"I don't think they are broken, but we'll have to see how they feel tomorrow. I've had broken ribs and bruised ribs. If they are bruised they should feel a little better tomorrow. If they are broken, it'll be worse."

He helped her pull her shirt back down and finished applying bandages to the cuts on her cheeks and forehead.

"Are you still cold?" he asked.

"A little," she replied, curling up with her knees pulled to her chest.

"Let's go out to the living room, I'll grab a blanket, and start a fire. Then you can tell me what that bastard did to you and why."

He helped her up, and steadied her when she started to wobble. He helped her out into the living room, and led her to the couch. He pulled a blanket off the side and draped it over her. Then he sat down next to her so they could talk.

"Now tell me what you can. If you don't want to, I'll understand."

"You…you deserve to know," she said, tears coming back to her eyes. "After we left the precinct, he and I went to dinner. It was normal, and we had a good time. He always talks about his work, and I sort of tuned out, but that's normal. We got back to my apartment and he noticed that Temptation Lane picture you got me. He asked me where I got it, as he hadn't seen in before. I told him the truth, not thinking a lot about it.

"We've had arguments about you before, Rick. He's the jealous type and doesn't like that you and I spend so much time together. Up until now I had always been able to convince him that nothing had ever happened between us, that we were just good friends and co-workers. But seeing that picture sent him off the wall. He said that co-workers didn't get each other presents like that, and that there had to be something going on between you and me. You know me, I'm not the most trusting person in the world, nor am I the most patient. So I sort of snapped. I didn't even think about it when I shouted that maybe he was right, and that we had kissed.

"I don't know what I was thinking, but that is the first time he hit me. I didn't even see it coming. I didn't have time to defend myself, and before I knew it he had hit me again and I fell to the floor. That's when he kicked me. I don't know how many times, but it felt like a lot."

During her story, Castle got angrier and angrier. He clenched his fists but held them underneath his legs so she didn't see his reaction.

"He kept shouting that I was a whore and that I couldn't be trusted, and that I needed to be taught a lesson. By that time I thought he was going to kill me, he was so angry. But then he stopped and stepped back. I thought it was over. How did I not see that side of him, Castle? I'm a detective for Christ's sake. I should have known that he was like that."

"This is not your fault, Kate. It's his. What happened then?"

She had been looking at the floor in front of the couch for the entire time she had been talking, but now she looked up and met his eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. "He pulled me up and stated hitting me again. I tried to fight back, but god he was so strong. I really thought that he was going to kill me, but he stopped when I passed out. When I came to, he was gone."

"God, Kate, I'm so sorry. What do you want to do? We should call the cops."

"I am the cops, Castle."

"You know what I mean, Kate. He can't get away with this, and if you won't let me get my gun and kill him, then the legal system is the next best option."

"No! Castle! Don't you understand? If I tell anyone but you, if anyone else finds out, I'll never be able to show my face in the precinct again. Can you imagine? I work in a male dominated profession. They find this out and they'll think I'm weak, that I can't take care of myself. It's bad enough that this happened to me, but it'll be worse if I report it."

Castle looked away from her, not knowing what to do. He sighed, and looked back into her eyes. "Okay, Kate. It's the wrong thing to do, but okay. What can I do? I feel so helpless, and so angry. How can I help you?"

"Hold me, please, Castle. I just need to be held."

He stood up and sat next to her. He pulled her onto his lap and held her to his chest. He didn't say anything, he just let her sit there and cry. After what seemed like hours, her breathing evened out and she fell asleep against him. He reached up and wiped tears from his own eyes, then picked her up gently and carried her to his bed where he tucked her in and kissed her brow.

He went back into his office after closing the door behind him. He needed to think. There was no way that bastard Josh should be able to get away with this. He thought about his options, now that he knew the cops weren't a possibility. He knew mobsters, he could pay for a hit. He quickly discarded that idea, knowing it was silly.

He sat there thinking for hours. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep so he just sat there, thinking about what she should do. Around 7, he heard the door open and Kate came out, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning," she said quietly.

"Morning, Detective," he said, putting a smile on his face.

"Did you sleep at all?"

He shook his head, "I didn't even try. I knew it wouldn't happen."

"I'm sorry I took your bed."

"No, it wouldn't have mattered."

She came up to him and sat down on his lap. He was shocked at first, but quickly put his arms around her. "I'm so sorry for showing up like this, Rick."

He shushed her, "No, Kate. Don't be sorry. I'm glad you trusted me enough to come here. I'm always here for you, and you never have to apologize for coming here when you need help. I'll always help you. Always."

She smiled shyly up at him, "Thanks."

"Kate?"

"Hmmm?"

"You have to go back to the precinct tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What are you going to tell the boys?" he asked quietly.

She sighed, not having thought of that. "I don't know. What do you think I should tell them?"

"If you tell them the truth, there is nothing in this world you could do to keep them from going after him. They consider themselves your big brothers and they will do something if they know. I think you should tell them, but then that's me. Otherwise you'll have to come up with a story."

She cuddled into his chest and said, "I don't know what to do, Rick. How could this happen to me? I'm a cop. I'm supposed to be strong. I'm not supposed to be weak."

"You are not weak, Kate," he said, tipping her chin up so he could look her in the eyes. "And you would have kicked his ass if you had the time to see it coming. It is not your fault. That's why you should let the boys take care of him. Let them bate him into swinging first, and then they'll not only have a reason to beat the crap out of him, but to arrest him too."

"Or…" he continued, "you could take some time off, heal up. Then when you're better, you and I take a trip to see Dr. Douche and we'll take care of it ourselves. I'm sure I could bait him into swinging at me, and then you can shoot him… I mean arrest him."

She laughed, her first real laugh since she had shown up at his door. "Nice slip up, there Castle. And thank you."

"For what?" he asked.

"For being here for me. You've been a great friend to me, and I won't ever forget it."

"Hey that's what partners are for," he said, stroking her cheek. They sat there in silence for about 10 minutes, just comforting one another, when they heard a knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" Castle wondered aloud. Kate got up from his lap. He stood and walked through the living room. Kate stayed in the office, not wanting to get in the way if it was a personal call.

Castle opened the door without looking at the peep hole. No sooner had he opened the door did he realize that that had been a mistake. Josh Davidson was standing on his door steps. Before Castle could compute what was happening, the good doctor had reared back with his whole body and threw his fist into Castle's face.

Castle stumbled back, clutching at his face.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, making a move on my girlfriend, huh? You think you can just take what you want because you're a famous author? No one fucks my girl behind my back and gets away with it, asshole!"

By this time Kate had heard the commotion and came sprinting out into the living room. She was just in time to see Josh punch Rick in the gut, doubling him over in pain.

"Josh! What the hell are you doing? How dare you? Wasn't beating the shit out of me enough?"

"Well, if it isn't the filthy whore," Josh said with a sneer, turning towards her.

With Josh distracted, Castle took the opportunity to kick the doctor between the legs. Yes, it was dirty, but it was the only way Castle was going to win.

Dr. Douche fell to the floor in pain, clutching his groin. Castle grabbed one of the table lamps that sat on a nearby table and swung it with all his might at Josh's head. The man dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Castle stepped back, still breathing hard, blood running down his face. He turned to Kate who stood there in shock. "Kate, we need to tie him up and call the cops."

She shook herself to shake off the shock and looked at Rick for the first time. She had been staring at Josh's motionless body. "Oh, God, Rick, your face!" She rushed towards him and placed a hand hesitantly on his face.

He flinched away from her touch, the pain starting to really get to him. "I'm going to go get some duct tape, you call Ryan and Espo or 911, whichever you want."

"You need an ambulance, and so will he."

"I'll be fine, but call one for him if you must."

She took out her phone and took a deep breath. She really didn't want to do this, but Josh had forced her hand. She would have let him get away with what he had done to her, but he couldn't get away with assault on Castle. No one hit her writer and got away with it. She called Espo.

"Beckett? You're off today, is something wrong?" Beckett rarely called him on her day off, so he knew something had to be up.

"Espo, I need you to listen to me. I need you and Ryan to come to Castle's loft. Something's happened. We're both fine, but we'll need a couple ambulances, and you'll need to take Josh and file assault charges."

"What did Josh do?" Espo asked, sounding enraged.

"I'll explain everything when you get here. Castle is restraining the good doctor now, so he won't be any more trouble. We're safe, but we could use your help."

"We're on our way."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Shockingly, Ryan and Esposito arrived at the loft first. The door was still open, so they just walked in. Kate and Rick were standing near Josh, who was still unconscious. Rick was holding a towel to his bleeding nose. Bruises were rapidly forming around his eyes. When the boys walked in, the first thing they noticed was Josh, who was pig tied on the floor, but was unmoving.

Then they noticed their two partners standing nearby, and both paled in shock. Espo walked up to them and said with controlled anger, "what the hell happened to you two?"

"It's a long story," Kate said, not really wanting to go into it, but now she knew she had no choice. "Just suffice it to say for now that he kicked the shit out of me last night, and then tried to do the same to Castle just now. Rick was able to get the drop on him and render him unconscious."

"That piece of shit," Espo exploded. He bent down and pulled the unconscious Josh to his knees. Josh started to come to at the movement, and Espo took advantage and punched him in the gut.

"Espo! No!" Kate shouted. "He's had enough, just arrest his ass and let him rot in jail for a few months. It isn't worth your badge. He's not worth it."

Esposito let the doctor drop back to the floor, rage still contorting his face. Ryan stepped forward then and asked, "Do you need to see a doctor, Kate? Where all are you hurt?"

"Face and ribs, Kev, but I'm fine. I think the ribs are just bruised. Castle needs to get checked out, and Josh there will probably have a concussion. Castle hit him pretty hard with that lamp over there."

"Good one, bro," Esposito said with pride.

"I wanted to keep going, but Kate's right. He's not worth it. He can suffer from the official consequences and we can forget about him." At that moment two sets of paramedics rushed into the room with their kits in hand.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over the course of the next couple hours, both Kate and Rick were checked out. Rick had a broken nose, but otherwise would be just fine. Kate had bruises on her face, and a couple bruised ribs, but likewise was given the go ahead to go home.

They met each other out in front of the hospital after they were released. Josh had been checked out for a concussion (which he did not have) and had been taken, rather roughly, into custody by Ryan and Esposito.

"I'm so sorry that I got you into this, Rick," Kate said as they walked out the front doors of the hospital.

"Don't apologize, Kate. Please. It isn't your fault. That asshole is going to spend some time behind bars and hopefully we'll never hear from him again."

She sighed and looked over at him, "I'm just glad that it's over. I still can't believe that this happened. I never thought that he would have this in him. How could I have not seen it? What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, Kate. Nothing at all. Love makes you blind to a person's faults, so it isn't your fault."

"I was never in love with him, Castle. He…" she looked down as she paused to gather her thoughts. "Listen, can we go somewhere to get a coffee? I could use the caffeine."

"Sure. Remy's? Then we could add in a burger. We haven't had anything to eat yet today."

"That sounds great, actually," she replied with a smile. Together they walked towards the taxi stand and got in a waiting cab.

xxxxxxxxxx

They ate in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company. The bruises on their faces didn't go unnoticed by the diner's staff who had come to know these two customers over the last three years. They didn't go unnoticed by the other cops in the building either. But after the duo sat down, ordered, and started to eat, the attention quickly faded away.

"He was a distraction," Kate finally said, after taking a swig of coffee.

Rick looked up from his sandwich and asked, "A distraction? From what?"

"You," she said, looking down at her plate, unable or unwilling to meet his eyes.

"Me? What do you mean?"

"Last summer when you went to the Hamptons with your ex-wife, you had asked me to go with you first, remember?"

"Yeah, but you were with Demming, right?"

"I broke up with him about thirty minutes before your going away party."

"You were going to say yes, weren't you? Then Gina showed up. God, Kate, I'm sorry. That must have hurt you so bad. I… never meant to hurt you," he said, looking ashamed.

"It isn't your fault, Rick. At least not only your fault, I should have told you how I felt before that and we wouldn't have gotten into that mess. Anyways, I was hurt. I was miserable. Lanie dragged me out a few weeks after you left to get me out from under the rain cloud I had been living under. That's when I met Dr. Douche," she smiled, using his new term of enragement for the doctor. "He was so unlike you that it helped me get over the fact that I had pushed you into the arms of your ex-wife. That's what I meant when I said he was a distraction. I never loved him."

"I'm sorry, Kate. If I had known, I wouldn't have done it that way. And then… you wouldn't have bruised ribs."

"It's not your fault, Rick. You told me that it wasn't my fault, remember? Well it's not your fault either. It's Josh's fault, and no one else's."

He nodded, still looking guilty.

"I guess the reason I wanted to tell you this was because I want us to have a chance, Rick. Not now, but soon. I need to get healed from this and take some time, but then…then I'd like to dive into it with you," she looked up at him shyly.

He met her gaze, hope blooming in his eyes. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and he couldn't believe that she was finally giving them a chance. He knew that he loved her, more than he had ever loved any other woman. He knew that it was too soon to tell her that, but he knew that someday soon, they would get their chance.

In the end, that's all he could ask for.

xxxxxxxxx

fin

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N – Reviews? I know that this is OOC. Kate Beckett could kick Dr. Motorcycle Boy's ass any day, and while I despise Josh as a character, I don't see him actually being the abusive type. Let me know your thoughts.