A.N. New and improved Version. Thank you so much to my Beta, AgentFraniJones.

Worry-Prologue

Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship.

It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked.

But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other.


3XK

Everybody makes decisions that they regret. Letting their guard down, thinking everything would be just fine, when the truth was the opposite. For most people, that isn't a matter of life or death. It doesn't make their blood go cold from fear then boil with rage in a matter of seconds because their apathy might just cause the death of the closest thing to a brother they've ever had. Esposito hadn't even reached the subway station before Beckett called, frantic. She explained about how Jerry was the Triple Killer, and Esposito didn't even hesitate for a second. He sprinted back to the precinct and jumped into the waiting car. The car ride seemed to take hours. Esposito slowly became more panicked. Every scenario ran through his mind. He could barely contain thoughts of Ryan and Castle dead, kidnapped, injured, flashing through his mind at the speed of light, trying to bring his heart rate to follow their rhythm. He was panicked. He was scared. And he didn't even want to imagine how panicked and scared Ryan was, if he was even able to be panicked and scared. Esposito didn't know which was worse.

Once they arrived, Esposito and Beckett shot out of the car, up the stairs, and into the room.

"Castle?" Beckett asked, worry coloring her tone.

"It's clear, he's gone." Castle replied.

"You okay?" Beckett asked.

"I'm fine. Ryan needs an ambulance." Espostio had been frantically searching the room with his eyes to find his partner, his heart skipping a beat when he heard what Castle said.

"No, I don't," was the feeble reply from the man lying crumpled on the floor. Esposito rushed over and knelt down, scanning his partner for any injuries.

"What the heck happened here?" Esposito asked. Castle replied, but Esposito didn't pay attention. The only thing he was paying attention to was the condition of his partner. Ryan had no badge, no gun, no phone, no wallet, and at that moment, very little pride. Ryan tried to sit up, but Esposito's firm hand pushed him back down.

"Not yet, bro. I want the EMTs to have a look at you first." Esposito kept Ryan lying down. Ryan sighed. Part of Esposito wanted to be relieved. At least he wasn't dead, right? But the rest of his brain wouldn't let him take an easy breath until the EMTs arrived and spoke to him.

"Well, he's got a grade 3 concussion, because he lost consciousness. I'm going to say that because he seems fully conscious and aware now, and because he has all of his memory. He can be released if, and only if, someone stays with him overnight to keep an eye on him."

"OK." Esposito reached for the forms.

"And no physical activity until you are cleared."

"Got it." Ryan replied. Esposito got out his phone and called for a Taxi. Ryan stood up, then swayed a bit. Esposito reached out to steady him.

"Careful there, bro. Is Jenny staying at your place now?" Esposito's voice was laced with concern.

"Yeah. But she said she's going to be getting home late tonight. Parent-Teacher conferences, and some of her kid's parents work really late." Ryan smiled a bit. Jenny worked as a teacher. Esposito walked Ryan to the road and into a waiting cab. He told the driver the address and off they went. When they reached Ryan's apartment, it was empty. Esposito sat Ryan down and walked into the kitchen. He poured himself and Ryan two glasses of water and walked back.

"You don't have to stay, you know. Jenny will be home soon." Ryan said.

"Yeah, actually, I do have to stay. You need constant supervision."

Ryan nodded carefully at that and they sat talking for 30 minutes about innocuous stuff. Esposito was careful to avoid any heavy conversations or talk about work. This wasn't the time.

They heard a key in the lock, and Jenny walked in.

"Hey, Kevin!" She said, a smile on her face. "Oh, hi, Javier. What are you doing here?" Jenny asked. Esposito stood up and motioned for them to move into the kitchen. He positioned himself so that he could talk to Jenny, but still have one eye on Ryan.

"What happened?" Jenny asked, her worry not masked at all.

"Someone got the drop on him. Listen, he's got a grade 3 concussion. Here's the instructions the EMTs gave us." Esposito handed Jenny the papers.

"Oh my God, is he ok?!" Jenny asked, freaking out now.

"He'll be fine, Jenny. He's just a little banged up. And his pride took a bit of a hit. The guy took his gun, badge, phone, and wallet."

"Oh, Ok." Jenny said, her nerves not calmed in the slightest. "Thanks. Yeah, I'll keep an eye on him." They walked back into the room. Esposito said goodbye. Then left his partner in his girlfriend's capable hands.