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I was completely overwhelmed with the response :) and a little excited...okay... a lot excited.
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"Castle, Castle…Castle"
He heard someone calling his name, but found he couldn't respond – he didn't have the energy. His face was pale, his eyes red and swollen. He felt like he had been hit by a truck that reversed only to do it all over again.
"Castle!"
He looked down sharply at the harsh tone and into the worried blue eyes of Ryan.
Wiping a hand over his face he replied, "Yeah?"
Ryan studied him for a moment before motioning for him to sit on the couch as he realized that Castle wouldn't be able to stand up much longer.
"Castle, sit, okay? Just breathe for a minute. It's going to be alright."
"Relax bro." Esposito said as he joined them in Castle's living room and sat in an armchair opposite to the couch that held Castle and Ryan. "It'll be okay." He didn't sound convinced, but Castle nodded politely at the other men's attempts at easing the situation. He honestly appreciated it, even though he couldn't right then and there. He was, however, completely relieved that Alexis and Martha were away.
Ryan put his hand comfortingly on Castle's shoulder. "Could you tell us exactly what happened?"
Castle nodded again, his eyes glazing over. "I woke up and I realized that she wasn't in bed so I went out to try and find her."
Esposito's eyes narrowed. "What woke you?"
Castle shrugged. "I don't know. Really. I just woke up."
"What time was that?" Ryan asked.
"3:47."
"What happened then?" Esposito continued.
"I walked into the lounge room and kicked my toe on the coffee table before I went to the kitchen." He paused, breathed in and out deeply before continuing. "I stepped into the kitchen and I felt something wet on my foot so I took another step and the same thing happened." He closed his eyes, forcing a tear to fall from them. "I turned the light on and … that's when I saw it… The blood - so much blood. I screamed her name and ran around the house – just yelling. I checked every room and then I called you guys."
"Did you see anything? Hear anything?"
"No. I heard nothing, I saw nothing and now she's gone. The door was locked and so are the windows. Her blood is all over my kitchen floor. And she's…she's gone."
"Castle it's not your fault." Ryan said calmly.
"He's right. You can't blame yourself."
"I was right there. I was right there." He whispered. "How could I not blame myself? I'm always right here but I can never save her!" He stood up angrily as tears rolled freely from his cheeks.
Ryan and Esposito could do nothing but watch him as they buried their fear so they could help as much as they could.
"Please tell me you found something Lanie." Esposito begged. His eyes glazed with despair. He knew that they had been in tough scrapes before, but this…it felt different. Something was very wrong. Like Castle had said – there was so much blood. He could see it from where is stood. Lanie had her back turned against it. She had seen enough.
Lanie looked more tired than usual and her eyes were swollen. She covered her eyes with her hands. Before Esposito took her in his arms and hugged her, saying softly, "It's okay. Just tell me what you know?"
She nodded against his chest before pulling back, his arms on her forearms. "I need to take samples of the blood back to the lab for analysis so we can determine whose it is. We have examined all the footprints but they are all Castle's. There's no weapon, no fingerprints, no DNA." She blinked away tears before looking into his eyes. "Javi, the door was locked; we have nothing to go on."
He breathed in and out deeply. There was nothing he could say to that to make her feel better. She knew crime scenes better than anyone else. There was no argument to be had, no words of comfort. He just stared back and whispered, not really wanting to know the answer, "Could she have survived that much blood loss?"
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