Sorry - Buckcherry ~ Castle, Ryan/Esposito
~ I'm sorry I'm bad/ I'm sorry you're blue/ I'm sorry about all things I said to you/
And I know I can't take it back
Ryan's desk is empty the morning Javi returns to the 12th. Castle and Beckett are already there, looking at the bare faux wood unhappily and it's the author who breaks the news, as Beckett was on the phone.
"Gates said he was transferred back to Narcotics as part of some special assignment."
Though they hadn't parted well (Okay, after thinking on it for a while, Javi was willing to admit he might have reacted badly to Kevin telling Gates what he and Beckett were doing), Javi had assumed they'd make peace and get back to work. Partners got it fights, were angry, then moved on.
"What?"
"He never said a word…."
"He also didn't mention the fact that he and Jenny have been having trouble," Beckett added as she hung up the phone. "He moved out last week."
All their attempts to reach Ryan were unsuccessful and, for the next month, they all felt the nagging sense that something was missing from their team.
Javi was filling out the paperwork on their latest case when someone called his name. Looking up, he saw a young detective (her badge hung around her neck) in jeans and a hospital scrub top, split lip and black eye giving her a rough edge.
"That's me," he replied and she looked his way quickly.
"North, Narcotics," she said brusquely, stepping toward him with a stiff gait that spoke of more hidden bruises. "You were Ryan's partner, yeah?"
"His transfer's only temporary," Javi began, but she cut him off.
"Things got FUBAR today. Ryan got shot. He's in surgery at St. Luke's."
Which was how Javi found himself sitting in a hospital waiting room with Beckett and Castle while doctors fought to save Ryan's life in an operating theatre. He wasn't a praying man, but that day he said a few words to God.
If ever there was an occasion to do so, this was it.