Enjoy the read.

I should also add I don't own Castle in any shape or form.


Chapter 7 – The Consequences and the Rewards

"Castle, what are you doing here?" Josh said trying to act innocent but he knew exactly why Castle was there and exactly what was about to happen to him. Bad things, very bad things.

The pain that was about to befall Josh caused Castle to smile, an evil, stomach turning smile. "You know why." He stalked closer to Josh. As Castle got within reach, Josh proved he was not going down without a fight. Josh struck Castle in the face first with a hard blow.

It actually stopped Castle from moving forward for second. He was bleeding from a cut above his eyebrow. It was a cut that was originally given to him from a fight the day before. "Good for you Josh, but now it's my turn" Castle said as he grabbed Josh by the shirt and tossed him over the kitchen counter. This caused him to crash into the bunch of glasses on the counter. He landed hard onto the broken pieces of glass, which buried themselves deep into his flesh. Before Josh could regain his feet he was sent flying over the counter again. Castle took a little bit of joy in the scream that Josh let out while flying through the air.

Castle waited this time for Josh to stand before continuing. Castle's fist connected hard with his face, the sound that came from Josh's nose as it smashed backward into his face was sickening and the blood started flowing freely from the break. "Having fun?" Castle asked looking down at him.

Josh turned to see Castle standing over him, just like he had stood over Kate. But he did not have a gun, he thought wistfully. It was then that he saw something strange; Esposito and Ryan were standing by the broken front door. They were in no rush to help him. Josh called "help me" at them but they just stared at him.

Josh calling for help caused Castle to turn to see the boys, but when they made no move to help, Castle turned back to Josh and knelt close to him and whispered, "No one is going to help you."

Another whack came but it was Josh who struck Castle again with a head butt. Hitting him in the fresh cut from the fight the night before, but Josh had broken it open, again. Josh tried to run while Castle was dealing with the pain but Castle was on him before he made it two feet.

Castle caught him, picked him up like he weighed nothing and slammed him down onto his back. You could hear the air rush from Josh. Castle was not done yet, though. He rained down blow after blow onto Josh face, arms, and torso, whatever he could connect with. Castle was intent on causing Josh as much pain as he could within a limited amount of time.

The boys finally stepped in after the good solid dozen blows or so. Josh was a bloody mess, barely conscious and barely audibly groaning. As they pulled Castle off of Josh, Castle added one final blow. He stomped down as hard as he could onto Josh's right hand and by the sound it made meant he broke more than a few bones in it. Josh let out a short scream of pain.

"Castle, neighbors called the police. Uni's are coming. We have to go" Esposito said to Castle still holding him by the arm.

Ryan looked at Javier for a second holding Castle's other arm. "No, we stay and explain what happened. I mean explain everything that happened. They're cops, we're cops. They will understand taking care of one of our own."

Esposito just nodded at Ryan before talking to Castle again. "We have to put cuffs on you. Make it look like we arrested you and Castle, do yourself a favor and keep your trap shut."

Castle was coming out of his rage and returning to reality. "Yeah, okay. What about him?" he asked nodding at Josh.

Ryan smiled at the destruction in front of him. "The patrol guys can take care of him."

The uniforms arrived a few seconds later, guns drawn. Ryan held up his badge. "Detective Ryan, Homicide, 12th. Put the guns away" Ryan said to the uniformed officers. "They had a little fight here and we have the suspect in custody."

As they all looked at Josh broken and bleeding on the floor, one of the uniforms popped off with, "This looks like more than a fight, sir."

Esposito and Ryan looked at each other for a second. Esposito spoke up, "Okay look, the guy on the floor there is Josh Davidson, he's married to a cop and he hit her last night, left a big bruise on her face. So our friend here taught Mr. Davidson a lesson about hitting females and especially female cops."

Ryan jumped in to finish for Javier "So we are going to take Mr. Castle there and charge him, okay?" The last was not question but a way of telling them what was going to happen.

"Will you guys call an ambulance for him? We are going to go." With that the three of them left, Castle still in handcuffs.

As they walked Castle through the lobby of the 12th everyone was looking at the sight of Castle; cut, bruised and still bleeding from both his face and his knuckles…and still cuffed. Even more people gawked when they arrived at the bullpen. The boys dropped Castle down in his chair next to Beckett's desk.

She just stared at him. "What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded.

There was no discernable expression other than concern on his face. She had taken all of the makeup off of her face. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. He reached up to touch the bruise but stopped himself, unsure if she would welcome his touch.

"What…yes I'm fine" she said taken aback by his question, still amazed that even now, sitting there in handcuffs and bleeding, his only worry was for her. She wanted to yell at him about putting himself in danger but did not want to in front of everyone. She grabbed him by the chain linking the cuffs and pulled him toward the interrogation room.

He yelped as the cuffs dug into his skin. "Apples, Apples" he repeated until she lightened up on the pulling.

Once inside, Kate pushed him into a chair and began to pace around the room. "Castle, you can't do things like this. I mean look at yourself! You look like Frank Castle, for Christ sake."

He perked up a little. "You think I look like Frank Castle" he asked smiling.

She looks at him with amazement and worry. "That's not a good thing. I was hoping for the old Castle, the one I know, the one I fell in lo…" She trailed off before finishing her sentence. She did not want to get in too deep with him right now.

But he heard her and was not about to let it go. She was so close to admitting her true feelings. "Finish what were you going to say" he demanded quietly.

"Not now. Maybe later" she said hoping to have a little more time.

Castle sat forward in the chair, placing his hand on the table, palm side up. "The time for later is over, Kate. It's time now" his eyes glowed with passion as he gazed into her eyes.

She was the one that wanted to talk, to get the truth out there, but not under these circumstances. Kate knew he was right no more laters and he was not about to let it go. She drew in a deep breath telling herself that it was time. It was time to fix this. She knew that it was time to make things right and the first thing was to admit her true feelings to Castle. "Castle, I am in love with you, I have been forever."

Castle stood up and walked to her on the other side of the room where she had stopped her pacing. He looped his hands over her head, to trap her inside his locked arms. He smiled at her.

"I love you too, Kate."

They were relishing the moment until she pulled away. Her face showed confusion. "I thought you were mad at me."

He smiled a small weary smile "Kate, I haven't been mad at you in a long time. Just hurt, but I am getting over that rather quickly." With that, he leaned in and kissed her, a deep passionate kiss. They were trying to make up for lost time in that one kiss.

The couple's kiss broke into smiles at each other, when they hear cheering from the other side of the glass. Both of them know what two detectives were on the other side of the glass. Kate quickly spun around pressing herself into Castle. Her back to his front and grabbed his cuffs again, this time to undo them, before they exited the room and returned to the bullpen.

As they entered the bullpen everyone was staring at them. "What?" Kate finally said to the whole room. No single person replied but the whole room answered at once. Most with "It's about damn time." Some even clapped. Kate's face reddened with embarrassment and Castle beamed.

"Alright, let's get back to work." came from Kate after a minute or so. Castle was still smiling when the Captain interrupted.

He was standing in front of her desk. Kate had to wonder, not for the first time, how a man so big moved so quietly. "Kate, I just got a report. Your apartment door was kicked in and your husband was assaulted. He's pretty beat-up."

"Oh." Kate tried to feign shock "How badly, sir?"

"He's in the hospital. He's got a couple of broken ribs and nose, fractured cheek bone and eye socket, and his hand was crushed. He also needed at least fifty stitches to close the wounds to his head."

Castle tried to look troubled but was failing terribly.

Captain kept going. "The report goes on to say that two detectives from the 12th arrested a suspect." He looked over his shoulder to the boys. They quickly decided it was time for coffee. Then he looked at both Kate and Castle for the first time and their matching beat up faces. "Kate, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this was retaliation for your cheek. Right?"

Kate knew there would be no more lying to the Captain. "Yes, sir. My soon-to-be ex-husband hit me last night and" she looked at Castle before finishing. "Then someone once again tried to protect me."

Captain Wall nodded in understanding then looked directly at Castle. "Okay, just don't go doing that again, Mr. Castle." He was about to walk away but then he remembered something "Kate, you may want to find a different place to stay tonight. Your apartment, as the report said 'looked completely trashed' and your husband will be discharged from the hospital tonight also."

"I was planning on checking into a hotel anyway, Captain" Kate replied.

Castle spoken up for the first time since the Captain approached. "Kate, you will stay with me."

Captain Wall smiled again. "Good looking out for her, Castle. On both accounts." Then he was gone.

Kate was actually shocked this time by the Captain. "No, Castle that will not be necessary. I will find a place."

"No, Kate you are coming to stay with me tonight. We've spent too much time apart this past year. No more laters. So right now I am not giving you a choice, but the choice on permanently is up to you," Castle was serious but hopeful.

She was going to protest because that was her nature. She couldn't help it but then she realized what he had asked of her and she stopped before she said anything. She was worried for a second but she knew he would never hurt her. So she simply answered "Okay," with a slight smile.

He had to make sure she understood what he asked of her. No miscommunications. "Kate, you do know what the question was, right? I don't want there to be any confusion."

"Well you just demanded that I stay with you tonight and you asked me to stay, as in move in with you, right?" She was a little worried that she read too much into his statement.

Castle's eye glinted in the familiar fashion of his. "That's right. So are you staying the night or forever?"

Kate looked at his man sitting before her. He was beaten, bruised and completely in love with her. So the answer was easy.

"Forever."


Yeah I am not one for slow building relationship. The show as done enough with that, so it gonna move fast.