Again, I don't own the show or the characters in it. Just writing for fun. Hope you all enjoy where the story is going. Let me know of any suggestions. There will be one more chapter. Beyond that, I'm not sure. Remember to R&R

"You really think he's in there?" Ryan asks his partner in the passenger seat.

"We have to hope so bro" Esposito answered, loading his pistol and cocking it. "No matter what anyone else thinks, he's one of us and we're going to find him."

"Yeah but what if Sarentos is sending us on a wild goose chase?"

"From the way he was describing this George guy, he wants us to find him before this guy finds him"

They pull a block away from the warehouse, and cop cars have the street blocked off both ways. The two cops hustle out of their dark blue Crown Victoria, retrieving their gear from the trunk. Beckett meets them at their car.

"Hey, you ready for this?" Ryan asks her, tapping her shoulder.

She takes a deep breathe, trying to release the pressure building beneath her vest.

Staring down at her pistol, she checks the clip, loads, and cocks it. "Ready"

"OK let's do it" Esposito says.

They approach the front of the warehouse, stacking up against the door, just next to the vehicle bay doors Beckett stands in front of the a side door, with Ryan and Esposito leaning against the wall next to the door. Ryan looks at Beckett and they both jump with their shoulders, silently counting to three.

Beckett swings the door open and the two men go in first. Ryan goes left and Esposito stays in the middle. Beckett follows them in and goes right.

Inside the warehouse are maintenance jacks for large vehicles and equipment in the middle. Cans of oil, and old tires litter the warehouse. Built into the far wall of the warehouse is a massive closet for tools, and equipment and what looks like a conference room. A white van with a sliding door on the right side of the abandoned shed captures the nervous woman's attention. She is fighting every urge in her body to scream the name of the person she desperately must save.

They know not to make too much noise as they are trying to surprise George, so Beckett eyes Esposito and motions for him to check the van while Ryan continues his sweep of the ground floor.

Esposito slides the side door of the van open and finds a blazer, a signature look for their lost writer friend. He picks it up and looks at Beckett, he knows how nervous she is, and his expression on his face says it all to her. "At least we know he's here"

Ryan joins his team at the van "First floor is clear. There's still an office upstairs" he says pointing to a wooden staircase on the side of the conference room, leading to an area above the rooms below. Esposito drops the blazer and joins his team as they reach the stairs in a few steps. They climb each step, guns pointed at the top. Its dark at the top, and they don't know what danger awaits them in the darkness. They reach the top and peer around the corner at the top and see a dead end, all except a light on the bottom of a door.

Once again they stack up at the door and prepare to enter the unknown room. Just like before, they silently count to three and Beckett kicks the door in. The three of them do a quick left-right check and see their friend standing before them with George Hopper behind him, with a large knife at his throat.

Their writer friend looked like hell. He had a white undershirt, blood stained. He had a gash on his left cheek, with dried blood resting beneath it. His hair, shirt and pants had dirt from the floor of the office. He was missing shoes and socks as well. Not his usual look

"George Hopper, let him go!" Beckett yells.

"Drop the knife!" Ryan and Esposito chime in.

"You let me go, and I'll let him go"

"You know we can't do that Hopper. Let him go, and we all walk out of here. Don't make this any harder on yourself" Beckett tells the madman.

"I let him go, and I go back to jail. You know I can't do that. I'll die before I rot in that hell hole."

While all this is going on, Beckett and Castle's eyes are locked. His blue orbs meet her brown, engaged in a dance that neither of them dares to break. Who knew if it would be the last time their eyes would meet?

Castle knows he's been in this type of situation before. Not too long ago, the man that had murdered his beautiful muse's mother had him hostage in the home away from home that many of the people of the 12th called it. He made a move and he knew she would be there to save him, which she decisively did. He saw that same look in her eyes now, and he knew she could save his skin yet again. Who better to put his life in their hands than the woman he trusted most.

The already beaten writer said a quick prayer.

WHAM! He bangs the back of his head on the nose of his captor just as hard as he could. Thinking he could get away, he moves to his right, but the hand with the knife had stiffened as its owner received Castle's blow. The writer takes both hands and slowly pulls the knife away from him.

The detectives knew this would happen and were waiting for Castle to move away before they could take down their foe

As the hand with knife reached his hip, Castle turned to face his adversary. Now there were four arms competing for the one knife. He looks eye to eye with his crazed would-be-killer and can see the hate and fear in his eyes. This man had nothing to lose and was going down fighting. George releases his left hand from his other arm and reaches behind him to draw his pistol causing Castle to gain the upper hand and force the blade to the floor.

Before he could pull his sidearm in front of him, his hostage had moved away and the three detectives open fire, gunning George Hopper down in a blaze of gunpowder and metal projectiles. The captor falls lifeless to the ground as fast as his weight can carry him, causing a solid thud on the floor. Two detectives approach the deceased villain, and one rushes for the stunned writer on the floor.

Beckett cups his face with her hands and looks deep into his eyes.

"Castle! Are you alright?"

He grins from ear to ear. Her concern for him was a welcome sight. She was always hard, tough, and determined. She rarely showed her He knows the truth though.

"I am now" he answered.

She leans forward and wraps her arms around his neck, burying her head just over his shoulder. "I thought I'd lost you"

"Me? C'mon, it takes more than a madman to take out the great Richard Castle"

She smiled at his 'Castle' humor. Oh how she missed that. Just one day apart had felt like an eternity.

"Really bro? Cause it looks like all it would take is a right hook" Esposito chimes in.

"Yeah. Looks like you went a few rounds with him" Ryan adds

"Oh really?" Beckett releases Castle and helps him to his feet, dusting him off. "You should see the other guy." They all turn to see the lifeless villain being carted off by a medical team and share a collective laugh.

"Glad you're alright bro" Ryan says as the room clears except for Castle and Beckett.

Beckett hugs the writer once again. This time, he feels her embrace, her warmth, and her comfort. "I'm so glad you're safe" She says, putting her head on his chest. Castle wraps his arms around his partner and places his cheek against her hair inhaling her aroma. The scent of cherries sent him to the moon and back in just a few breaths.

They got lost together, enjoying each other's embrace. Beckett leaned back against Castle's hands and looked up at him glowing with contentment.

"Why Detective Beckett, if I didn't know any better, I would say you missed me."

She looked down at the ground and could only spare a glance back at him.

"Maybe just a little" she replies. "We should get you down to the medics and get you checked out."