Sorry for the delay, I got a bit distracted, and when I set down to finish the chapter off last night, I just fell asleep! Anyhoo... This next bit here was highly anticipated by some of you, so I won't waste any more of your time with this...

"This is bullshit!" Doctor Davidson yelled, still being escorted by the arm by a uniformed officer. They were just passing the cafeteria, catching the notice of the group assembled there, eating in their relative silence.

"Excuse me," Detectives Ryan and Esposito said at the same time, placing their napkins on their trays, both having finished, and leaving the table simultaneously. They walked out into the hallway, quickly catching up to the officer and Doctor Davidson.

"Hey bro, we can take it from here." Esposito said, nodding at the officer who was escorting Josh out. The officer, recognizing the pair of detectives, relinquished his hold on Doctor Davidson, turning around to return to his post by the ICU doors.

"Thanks guys, that lunatic was going to throw me out of the hospital!" Josh exclaimed, waving his arms around.

"Well, let us help you out then." Detective Ryan said smoothly, grabbing Josh by the arm and tugging a little harder than necessary, pulling him to the nearest exit, then into the stairwell of the parking structure.

"What the Hell, Kevin?" Josh said, trying to push him away, but Ryan just tightened his grip.

"Don't 'What the Hell' him, bro. Yelling at Castle's mom?! Not cool, man." He said shaking his head. "What were you gonna do? Punch Castle if he had been in that waiting room?" Esposito asked, hoping to get some answers.

"Hell yes I was going to punch Castle! That asshole had it coming! He put Kate in danger! He got her back into looking at her mom's case!" Josh yelled, angry that the detectives didn't seem to be on his side.

"Wrong answer, chump." And with that, Detective Ryan shoved the doctor into the wall by the stairs. "What do you think that would have accomplished in the long-run? Beckett loves Castle, we all know that!"

Josh bounced off the wall, head smacking it with a thud. He reached up to rub his head, answering immediately, "He made her dig, he got Montgomery killed, Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he had staged half of the shit that happened between the two of them! How many cops go through that much peril? And for what? To make her fall for him?" He questioned, angering the detectives even more. "Kate doesn't love that dick, she loves me! She's just too stubborn to realize it!"

"That dick? I think you mean Rick. He's obviously a better man than you are, at least he knew when to back down!" Kevin was getting pretty angry at this point, the guy just kept saying stupid shit, and it was pissing him off. "Rick has saved her life more times than I can count, and you think you can, what? Knock him on his ass for trying to again? If you want to punch someone, how about you try one of us?" He said, motioning between himself and his partner as they rolled up their sleeves.

"You think I can't take you? Some short wise-ass cop, and his thick-headed counterpart?" That got them going, this guy was going to get his clock cleaned.

"Try me, bro, we'll see how thick-headed I am when I whoop your ass!" Espo warned.

"Well, you asked for it!" Josh ran headlong at Esposito, trying to tackle him, but Espo sidestepped, shoving him with a foot to his ass, the momentum making him stumble and hit the ground. "Cheap-shot." Josh said, getting back to his feet, this time running towards Ryan. He stopped short, pulling his arms up and trying to punch him in the face. Ryan had practiced plenty of boxing though, so he brought his hands up, blocking, ducking and weaving as Josh threw punch after punch, missing his target every time. Finally, bored with the game, Kevin ducked, settling two successive punches to the doctor's gut. He gasped, surprised by the hits. "So you're quick, but speed isn't everything!" Josh taunted. Kevin just shook his head, he couldn't believe this guy. He dodged a couple more punches before finding his opening and connecting a powerful right hook to Josh's face, then an uppercut when he stumbled sideways. The doctor fell to the ground in an instant, Kevin following quickly, he straddled his chest, grabbing the front of his scrubs in his left hand, raising his right to punch the doctor again, even as he struggled to buck the detective off.

"Yo, bro, you sure you want to keep this up?" Detective Esposito asked, though to which of the pair, it was unapparent.

"I don't step down from a fight." Josh spat in Ryan's face.

"Oh that does it boy-o!" He ground out, landing several punches directly to the doctor's face, two in the nose, breaking it with a satisfying crunch, and a couple more to the left side of his face. Satisfied with his work, Detective Ryan pushed up off of the doctor, getting to his feet and making his way over to his partner. "Didn't you want to get a couple swings in?" He asked Espo.

"Nah, next time. Lanie doesn't like it when my hands get all torn up." He shrugged as the turned away from the doctor lying on the ground.

"Oh, and don't come back into the hospital today, and if I even hear that you tried to get into the private room they are being moved to, you'll have to worry about more than a broken nose." Ryan said menacingly over his shoulder.

"How am I supposed to fix my fucking nose?" Josh yelled after them, holding his head back and pinching the bridge.

"You're the doctor, figure it out yourself." Esposito challenged him as they made it back to the door.

~KO~

"We should probably head back upstairs." Lanie said, checking her watch. "We've been gone for a while."

"What about Kevin and Javier?" Alexis asked, oblivious to what was most-likely occurring in some hidden alleyway nearby, unlike the adults of the group, who all shared a look.

"They'll be back soon, dear don't worry." Martha piped up, standing and picking up her trash as well as Detective Ryan's.

"Okay…" Alexis said, standing and cleaning up as well.

They threw their trash away and made their way back up to the ICU. It was getting close to seven, and if Doctor Parish were being honest with herself, she wanted to make sure Kate was okay, especially after seeing Josh being hauled out like a common criminal. Her imagination was running full throttle. She was half-afraid she was going to find Castle with his breathing tube pulled out and a scalpel in his eye.

When they reached the ICU, they were relieved to find Castle laying there just as before, and Kate dozing softly, her head facing towards him. They approached quietly, Martha and Alexis grabbing either of Rick's hands as they sat down opposite each other in the hard chairs. Jim went to sit by Kate's bedside, hesitating before grabbing her hand as well. He didn't want to wake her, but he needed the comfort of her touch. She didn't stir, just continued sleeping. Lanie took the seat opposite him, leaning back in her chair.

~KO~

Alexis eventually ended up falling asleep leaning her head onto her father's bed, his hand held in hers under her head. After such an emotionally draining day, no one was surprised. The rest of the group sitting there in silence, reflecting on the day's events. Detectives Esposito and Ryan returned shortly after Alexis' breathing evened out, so they just nodded their greetings, standing off to the side.

'Jeez, this is more sleep than I've had in weeks! What gives? Did my alarm clock break?' I search my mind for an answer, not quite able to recall the last time I had been awake, not until I feel discomfort in my chest, then it all comes rushing back.

A shot rang out just as I reached Kate, I hadn't even felt the impact, didn't know I was hit. All I could think about was Kate. Kate! She was hit too! I hope she's okay! I should see! I should wake up!

'Come on Rick, focus. Wake up! Wake up!' I chant at myself, it's no use, I'm conscious already, I just can't open my eyes, they feel like they're glued shut. I try to focus on the rest of my body, having felt that pain in my chest before, I start there. As my breath comes and goes, I can feel fabric moving with it, but not my usual soft and silky, it's rough, must be a hospital gown. I'll have to send someone to fetch me real clothes the moment I wake up. I mentally shake my head, trying to focus again. Besides the most-likely hideous hospital gown, I can feel pressure on my right side, a gauzy substance. Ah, probably a bandage covering up my soon-to-be awesome and heroic scar. I was smirking in my head, imagining Beckett smacking the back of my head for even thinking such a thing. There I go thinking about Kate again. I mentally shake myself again, I really need to focus so I can get control of my body. I extend my senses outward, feeling my shoulders shift infinitesimally as I breathe, then down my arms. I can feel a loose, but powerful grip on my right hand, as well as what I assume is tape holding in some IV tubes. That's going to put a damper on the writing for a few days. I've done it before, but hey, maybe Gina will cut me some slack… On my left hand I can feel the same tape and tubing situation, and something on my index finger, probably a heart monitor, I conclude; but beyond that, I can feel a slight dampness under a soft weight and fingers laying on my forearm.

I'm feeling more alert now, so I try to open my eyes again, and instead of pitch-black, I am rewarded with a murky reddish-brown, I'm making progress. I try twitching my fingers, feeling them move just slightly, as if I were pressing a few keys on my keyboard. This seems to get the attention of the person at my left, as the weight against my arm is gone in an instant, replaced by a tightening grip on my hand instead. "Dad…?" I hear, though it sounds as if it is echoing down a long hallway. I try to swim closer to the surface. Why did I focus on my touch sensations rather than my hearing? Probably because touching things is more my style than listening. "Richard?" I hear, it's slightly clearer, but coming from a different source. "Dad come on, you gotta get up." The voice I'm hearing is Alexis, but what echoes after it in my mind is a scene from her favorite animated movie as a child, a movie we had watched together almost daily. In my mind the scene where Simba finds Mufasa after the wildebeest herd passes is playing, sad music and all, 'Dad come on, you gotta get up. Dad, we gotta go home! Help! Somebody! Anybody! … Help.'

I can't do that to Alexis.

My eyes snap open, the overhead light blinding.

~KO~

"Dad!" Alexis exclaimed, her hand reaching up to her father's face, pushing his hair back from his forehead. All he could do was stare at her, now aware of the breathing apparatus hooked up to his face. He arched an eyebrow at her after a few moments, and she couldn't help but giggle. "We'll get that out dad, don't worry, we all know you can't stand not being able to talk." She pressed the call button, the doctor appearing from behind the curtain moments later.

"Ah, Mr. Castle is awake I see!" He said happily. "Let's check a couple things here…" He trailed off, beginning his check. "Alright, seems like we should be able to take that tube out, why don't you guys step out for a moment while I get this taken care of?" He suggested, knowing most folk couldn't take the sight. Everyone but Lanie went to wait outside in the hall, Jim closing the curtain between the two beds as he left, just in case Kate woke up.

Just as before with Kate, the doctor calmly talked Rick through the procedure, carefully removing the tube and tossing it in the bio-waste bin.

Taking his first unassisted breath felt fantastic, and then painful when he breathed too deeply. "You'll want to take shallower breaths for a while, the bullet punctured your lung and they had to patch it up. Needless to say, deep breaths are probably not going to feel too great for a while." Rick nodded, unable to find his voice yet. "You'll need to drink a bit of water before you can speak properly again, and your throat will probably hurt for a few days, so you might be better off not talking too much." The doctor smiled, "Any questions?" Rick shook his head no, reaching for the cup of water Lanie had just poured. The doctor left after checking the machines quickly. Rick took a sip out of the cup, feeling the cool water rush down his throat, coating his insides in the most pleasant way.

"You doing okay Writer-boy?" Lanie asked. He nodded, still not sure of his voice. "Good, you scared us for a while there. Who knew your old-man heart couldn't take having a bullet pass through you." He raised an eyebrow at her teasing, expecting it from the boys, but not so much her. She shrugged. "Why don't I go get Martha and Alexis, they've been waiting." He grabbed her hand for a moment to stop her.

"W-where's K-Kate?" He rasped, throat throbbing.

"She's right behind that curtain Lover-boy." She said, motioning to the curtain to his left. "She's resting, but don't worry, you were the first thing she asked for too."

"Really?" He asked, his voice coming back all at once. Ah, the magical healing powers of Love.

"Yeah, and before you ask, she's fine. Better than you, actually." She smirked.

"That's all I can ask for." He murmured.

"Let me go get your family, they've been worried." He nodded, letting her go this time.

So... He's awake now... I didn't want to leave a cliffhanger, and I kind of did/kind of didn't. Don't worry about it too much though, I'm on track to get the next chapter out by this time tomorrow... If not sooner. :)

~Morgen