A/N: This is our last chapter! Thanks to everyone who read from the beginning! (And almost beginning.) I'm going to make this the longest chapter, so hopefully no one will lose interest. Though they've been called, no cops will show. Not until it's too late. It's the final standoff..who's going to make it out alive?

"Now I never meant to do you wrong, that's what I came here to say. But if I was wrong, then I'm sorry, but don't let it stand in our way. Cause my head just aches when I think of

the things I shouldn't have done. But life is for living, we all know, and I don't want to live it alone..."-Coldplay

Ryan

Kevin took a step toward the door, and stumbled when Jenny remained rooted in place, still sobbing something terrible.

"Jenny," he began in his most calm voice, "Jenny, we have to go answer the door." But she shook her head, raising her hand to wipe away her tears.

"No," she said fiercely, "No. I won't let you kill him. Kill me. He didn't do anything to you!"

"Yes he did!" Kevin growled.

"How?" Jenny demanded defiantly, "How do you know? You weren't here! You were in the hospital. He never touched me!" Ryan stopped for a moment to consider. How, indeed, did he know? Maybe what he thought was wrong. Maybe..

No. We've gone too far for you to stop now. Get the door.

"Hold on.." Kevin said softly, mind still working, "What if we're wrong? What if..?"

"What?" Jenny asked. He waved a hand at her.

"Not you."

We've done nothing wrong. Besides, we can't go back now. They'll take you to jail. They'll have you committed. You'll never see Jenny again. And you love her.

"I do love her," he agreed.

Exactly. And you have to show her how much you love her. You have to kill the one that tries to steal her affection. And then you have to kill her.

"And myself?" he questioned. The banging continued in the background, but Kevin paid it no mind.

There is nothing to worry about. It avoided his question. Just do as we've planned. Ryan nodded, repeating the phrase to himself.

"Just do as we've planned. Just do as we've planned. Jenny," he called, "Jenny, open the door!"

Esposito

Javier had just raised his hand to knock again when the door eased open. He saw Jenny's panicked face show through the crack. His heart soared for just a moment. She was alive. Now he had to just keep her that way.

"Jenny. Come outside," he whispered urgently. She choked on a sob.

"I can't. He's right behind me. Javier, run. Please.We're handcuffed." He bit his lip while his mind raced on. Handcuffed? Her plea went unheard.

"What hand-"

"Javier, come inside!" Kevin called, kicking the door wide open. They were, in fact, handcuffed together. Javier shook his head, keeping one hand on his gun.

"I can't do that, Kevin. How about you come out here, bro?" He seemed to consider it for a moment.

"Why are you making this hard for me, Javi? Is it really-" Then he seemed to latch on to another thought, "Is anyone with you?" he asked suspiciously.

"No," Esposito said honestly. Now that he was here, with Kevin being as dangerously unstable as he was, he thought about how smart it would have been to have called someone for backup.

"I don't believe you." Javier raised his hands in a symbol of surrender and took a step back.

"Come out here and look for yourself. No one." Kevin nodded and pulled Jenny along with him as he stepped outside, keeping a tight arm around her waist, holding her directly in front of him. There would be no clear shot, then, as Esposito knew Ryan intended to keep her there. Insurance. That's when Javier saw Kevin's gun. He wanted to reach for his own, but his body refused to cooperate.

"Kevin," he began, careful to keep his voice even and calm like he'd been taught, "We don't need guns. Just put it down, bro." Ryan shook his head.

"Don't act like you don't have your gun, too. I know you do. Let's have it." When Javier didn't move quick enough, Kevin pointed his gun at Esposito's face.

"I said," he growled, "Let me see it."

Beckett

Castle did a quick little run/walk to Kate's desk. She looked up.

"What?" He half turned back to where he'd come from.

"Have you seen Esposito? 'Cause I was going to-" Beckett shoved up from her desk.

"He's not in the precinct?" she demanded, about to run for Montgomery.

"Well, I asked around, and-" Beckett threw him her cell phone and grabbed her coat.

"Call the hospital. I'll go get Montgomery. Meet me outside." Castle eyed her over the phone.

"You don't-"

"Can't rule it out. Now call." Kate hurried off to find Montgomery, murmuring something along the lines of, "Ten-sixteen."

Esposito

Javier slowly showed Kevin his weapon, finger lightly brushing the trigger.

"There."

"Drop it," Ryan said, motioning to the ground with his own gun. It passed in front of Jenny's face, and she gasped. Javier closed his eyes momentarily and sent a prayer to God that if anyone, she would make it out alive.

"I can't, Kevin. I feel safer if I keep it with me, okay? But safety's on." He clicked it into place. Ryan studied him, and then nodded. The gun didn't budge.

"What do you want from me?" Javier asked, his gun still trained on his partner. He didn't have a shot, "I can get it. Just tell me." Ryan shook his head.

"I don't want you to get me anything."

"So what is it?" Esposito took a small half step to the right to see if he had a clean shot there. He didn't.

"I want you dead." And he said this so plainly, so matter of factly, that it gave Javier a startling pause. It brought tears to his eyes and stole his voice for a moment.

"Why?"

"Because I know what you did to Jenny! You touched her. You went to bed with her! She's mine, bro. Why would you do that to me?" The gun shook dangerously in his hand as he shouted. It was surprising that no one had come outside yet.

"Kevin, I didn't have sex with Jenny. Who told you that? It's a lie, bro. I promise you, it's a lie. We never went to bed," Esposito explained quietly, keeping his eyes on Jenny. She trembled violently.

"You didn't-" he laughed, "You didn't sleep with Jenny? Then why did you stay overnight in my house?" Javier blew out a frustrated breath. The two of them were getting absolutely nowhere. It was like they were dancing in circles. But he'd play his game. For now.

"Because she was scared. She wanted you back, and you weren't there. All I did was watch over her. I kept her safe. For you." But Kevin was still shaking his head.

"No. No, bro. I saw what I saw. I know about the two of you. I saw you at the hospital, too. Remember that, Jenny?" He shook her, hard, and Javier advanced a step; too quickly. Kevin jerked the gun up in his face again.

"Step back!"

"Then don't hurt her!" Esposito yelled, finally breaking his cool. Kevin smirked.

"Oh, isn't that cute? You love her, don't you? Now step back!" Javier gave up and dropped his hands to his sides, the gun now aiming at the ground.

"I don't care, bro. I don't care. Shoot me. Do whatever the hell you want to me. But let her go. Just let her walk away, and you can shoot me," he whispered, hurt. Where had they gone wrong?

"Kevin? Jenny? What's-" A woman, a neighbor, Javier assumed, came to her front steps.

"Get back in your house!" Ryan shouted. She looked, stricken, from Kevin to Javier, putting her hands in the air.

"Go back inside, ma'am," Javier instructed, nodding at her. When she hesitated, he nodded again.

"It's alright. Go back inside."

"Should I call the po-"

"GET INSIDE!" She hurried off as Kevin aimed the barrel of the gun at her. She stumbled back inside. She would call the cops, no doubt. And Javier wasn't sure how Ryan would respond to that. Kevin turned back to him.

"On your knees." Esposito did as he was told. He still clutched the gun.

"So what now?" he asked. Kevin shrugged.

"I-I have to shoot you?" And here, for the first time since the standoff had begun, Kevin looked unsure. Scared. Sounded it, too. It was like someone else was telling him what do to. Like he was being guided by some unseen force.

"Kevin, no you don't. Just put the gun down, and we can all walk away," he assured his partner. Ryan hung his head, and it was a moment before he realized that he was sobbing.

"I can't. I can't, Javi. I'm just so scared. I don't know why I have to..I'm just so lost. It's like..like I'm battling for my own mind. I can stand it!" He sounded afraid, enraged, and sorrowful, all at the same time. Javier's breath caught as he cried, silently, to himself. It was terrible, seeing this man, his brother, destroying himself right before his eyes. He could do nothing to stop the train wreck that was Kevin Ryan. And that cut him deeply.

"Tell me. Tell me, Kevin, please! What's wrong? What happened?"

"Haven't you heard?" he asked bitterly, "I'm crazy. I'm absolutely insane!" he broke down completely then, "I have schizophrenia. Nothing works. Not the medicine, not ignoring them.." Esposito had known. He'd taken the time to look it up. But it was still shocking, still terrible, just to hear Ryan admit it himself.

"There's still treatments. You don't have to take the medicine, you could-"

"I can't," he sobbed, "I can't. I can't think! It's like I don't even know who I am anymore! I hate it!" Javier rocked back on his heels and roughly rubbed at his face. His breath would not come back. Neither would his words. They had failed him, just like he had failed his partner. All that he could do was cry openly, brokenly, and feel his heart break within him.

"Kevin. Please. I'm begging you now. Let Jenny go. Let her go, and we can get you help. W-whatever you want, we'll get it." Ryan shook his head.

"There is no help. I don't want it. I don't want it, Javi. I just want it to be over!"

"Don't say that," Esposito begged, "Don't say that to me. It's not over. 'Till the wheels fall off, remember? What happened to that?"

"I can't. I'm sorry. It's over." Kevin pointed the gun at the side of Jenny's head, hiding behind her. It was impossible to get a shot without taking her out as well. Javier scrambled to his feet and aimed his gun anyway.

"Kevin, don't-" His words were lost in the sirens. He saw Ryan jump. He was nervous; felt pressed for time.

"Kevin..Kevin, if you don't drop the gun..I have to shoot you. And I don't want to, bro, I really don't. I can't." He couldn't. Truth was, it would destroy him. Because there was no way he could shoot to wound. He'd have to shoot to kill. And he just couldn't. He couldn't do that to him.

"Ryan, please," he begged, ragged, broken, nothing left, "Don't make me do this."Kevin moved Jenny out of the way, moved her just so that his chest was exposed, moved her so that only his heart was exposed. He pressed the gun harder into her skull, and she cried out.

"Do it, Javier! Do it, or I swear to God I will!"The sirens came closer, and he knew he'd have to make a decision. He felt sick. All he wanted to do was go to sleep and forget everything. He'd never be able to forgive himself if he did this. Never. He couldn't shoot Ryan. Not his partner. But he couldn't just walk away.

"Oh God, Pardoname.." he moaned, raising closed eyes to the sky, "Pardoname.." Forgive me. He squeezed the trigger, and all was silent. Dropping to his knees, he banged his fist against the concrete and sobbed. It was over.

Three Years Later

Esposito

Javier dropped the empty beer can onto the counter and crushed it with his palm. Without hesitation, he reached for another one and popped it open. He glanced at the clock. It was only 11 a.m. Lanie shuffled into the kitchen and kissed his cheek.

"Javier, it's too early. Come on, baby, put it down. We can..we can go for a walk. Or a drive. Or-" He shook his head.

"No," he said hoarsely, knocking back the rest of the can. He crushed that one as well and went to grab another. Lanie slammed her hand down on it and slid it back, out of his reach.

"Give them to me, Lanie," he demanded, not meeting her eyes. He didn't do that much anymore. Soon after his final standoff with Ryan, he'd quit the force and retired to his apartment, where he had become hell bent on drinking himself to death. In fact, two years ago he had been rushed to the hospital with alcohol poisoning. The doctor told him if he kept drinking like that, he'd be dead before he was forty. Javier had looked him in the eye and told him he hoped so. After that, Lanie had taken it upon herself to care for him. They had something like a romance, though it was mostly one-sided. Javier never let himself get attached. Not anymore. Yet day after day, Lanie tried to rip him from the bottle. And bless her, she never gave up.

"No. Javier, look at me, won't you?" He didn't. She gently tipped his chin up so that they made eye contact.

"Javier, you can't keep doing this to yourself. You already gave up on work, baby. Don't give up on life. You need to stop this." Her voice was hushed, raw. He dropped his gaze and choked back his tears.

"I shot Kevin, Lanie. I shot my partner. What right do I have?"

"You shot him, Javier. You didn't kill him. And you saved Jenny. You did what you had to." She gathered him in her arms, and he there he cried.

Ryan

"Hey," Jenny murmured, bending down to kiss his cheek. He continued to stare out the window. It wasn't that he was ignoring her, it was that he was still lost somewhere within his mind. He barely spoke anymore, except for when he broke into one of his fits.

"Come on, let's get you changed, okay? Have you changed recently?" She didn't expect him to respond. He didn't. She guided him back into his room and sat him down on the bed. Opening the closet, she idly made chat with him about what she'd done that day. She picked a shirt and bent down to unbutton the one Kevin was wearing.

"Here, hold your arms out." He did, and she removed the old one and replaced it with a new one. It had taken her a while, but Jenny had come to visit Kevin everyday. After the standoff three years ago, she'd been a total wreck. But gradually, she had forgiven Kevin and worked with him. Still, he had to stay in the institution. She hadn't dated. It was as if she was waiting for him to get better, so that they could pick up where they had left off. She knew they couldn't. She finished buttoning his shirt.

"Kevin, I love you. You know that? I forgive you." And for a rare moment, he smiled, and it felt like old times. And then..he was gone again.

A/N: The End! Thanks for your faithful reading and reviewing! It's all over. I'm a little sad, actually, but it's been a good ride. Safe to say I'm done with my block now! Keep an eye out for another fiction I'll be working on soon. Thanks so much; you're all the best! Yours forever and always! (Even after the wheels fall off.)