The usual disclaimers apply: I'm not making any money off of this, Castle belongs to ABC and Andrew Marlowe, and any similarities to real people or places are strictly a coincidence.
Author's notes are at the bottom. Please enjoy!
The Spellbound Affair
Chapter Ten
Big Perp rolled across the hood of the sedan and left a human-sized shatter pattern in the windshield. The impact knocked Kevin loose. The toddler flew through the air in slow motion, landing solidly on the asphalt and rolling a few times from his momentum. The sound of more tires squealing as a red Escalade barely braked in time was deafening to Beckett. Castle's shout at Javier to stay out of the road barely eked past the ringing in her ears. She felt like she was underwater as she watched Big Perp slide off the hood and bravely limp towards the shaken toddler. The man could only make it a few steps before his broken body failed him, but it put him close enough to grab Kevin's left ankle and prevent the detective from getting away. Kevin sat down hard as his left foot was jerked out from under him. His pained cry jarred time back to its normal pace and the sounds of people shouting and impatient cars honking flooded back to Beckett with their usual clarity. As she ran towards them, Kevin drove the heel of his right shoe into the man's jaw. With a curse, the man spit out one of his pearly teeth and refused to relinquish his hold on the boy. Kevin managed to slip off his shoe. Finally free, he scrambled to his feet and darted the rest of the way across the jammed street.
"I've got him." Castle rocketed past her, pursued closely by Javier. Beckett reluctantly finished apprehending her second suspect. She knelt on him, with her knee digging painfully into his kidney, until her backup arrived to take over. In the distance, she could hear sirens. It was the familiar mix of police and ambulance sirens. Beckett didn't know if Big Perp would make it to the hospital. He'd been hit pretty hard by the little sedan and with the lack of struggle in him now, she worried that she would lose him before she had a chance for interrogation.
"Beckett, are you all right?" She looked up to find Demming towering over her, looking worried.
"I'm fine," she replied crisply.
"I saw the accident. Go, I'll take care of this jerk-off." She gave him a grateful smile before setting off in the direction Castle had gone.
On the opposite sidewalk she found Javier pacing impatiently, waiting for her. "Where are Castle and Ryan?" Beckett demanded.
"That way," he said, pointing towards the park beyond the decorative iron fence. "Your asshole boyfriend failed to make sure I got through before the gate latched behind him." Sure enough, a hinged gate stood a few feet away, secured by a latch that could be easily undone… if you could reach it. The mechanism was purposefully out of reach of small children. "How did Ryan get through?" She didn't even realize that she'd switched back to surnames. Right now, it was her partner out there in an unknown condition and she would let nothing stand between them.
"The bars were just wide enough for him." Apparently the designers of the park fence hadn't thought that one through very well.
"Let's go." Beckett opened the gate and let Javier go through first. She swallowed her concern at the blood smeared across his cheek and arm. He seemed to be doing fine despite whatever injury he'd suffered. Once inside, they quickly located Castle, squatting near the end of an old concrete culvert that had been converted into a tunnel for the amusement of the park's smallest patrons. The grassy area around the more meticulously manicured playground was littered with the things, all of various sizes and paint jobs. Castle had picked one of the narrowest ones to peer into.
"Castle, where's Kevin?" She slipped back into the emotional safety net of the first names.
The writer pointed into the tunnel. He was clearly frustrated. Beckett knelt down see into the dimness for herself. The sun was starting to set as the afternoon turned late. She cursed the ridiculousness of the fifteen foot tunnel that was too small for an adult to climb through. She knew she would get stuck if she tried to wiggle through the concrete tunnel to her partner, whom she could see curled up just beyond the edge of the weak sun's penetration into the tunnel. She could see the shivering of his little body from where she knelt and his labored breathing echoed in the small space.
"It's okay, you can come out now," she said, reaching as far into the culvert as she could. She was about two feet short of her goal. "Both perps are apprehended. You're safe now, baby boy." Just like earlier, her adrenaline began to fade and she felt bone deep exhaustion start to slide over her. She had to blink back excessive moisture in her eyes and swallow past the knot in her throat when Kevin didn't react at all to her voice. It was easy to see, even in the dim light, that he was going into shock. Hell, if she'd just barely survived a violent car accident, she'd probably be in shock, too.
"Let me try." Javier pushed firmly on her shoulder to get her to move away from the mouth of the tunnel. For the first time since Friday afternoon, Beckett envied her detective for being so small. Javier could crawl towards his partner with almost no difficulty save for the scrape of the concrete on his knees and hands. When he sat up next to Kevin, his body blocked Castle and Beckett's view of the younger boy, though they could clearly hear anything said.
xXx
"Hey, bro, why you want to hide in this crappy tunnel?" It was a pretty crappy tunnel. Javier wrinkled his nose against the musty smell. He brushed at his raw knees, knocking loose what dirt he could. It was dark in the tunnel, making it more difficult to clearly see his partner. What he could see was that Kevin was so pale he nearly glowed and he shivered as if it was ten degrees in the tunnel instead of a cool sixty. "Kev?"
"Hurts." Javier barely heard the admittance, but it was enough to cause his jaw to clench in anger. He chided himself to relax.
"What hurts?"
"I can't move my arm."
"You crawled all the way in here with only one arm? How was that possibly a good idea?"
"My head."
"Your head hurts, too? Well, that's not much of a loss I guess. Clearly you were already brain damaged." Javier slowly reached across Kevin to poke at his left shoulder. Kevin's sharp cry of pain caused Javier to pull his hand back as if he'd been burned. From the near end of the tunnel, Castle and Beckett demanded an explanation for the sound. "Did you break something?"
"N-no. I landed on my shoulder. I think it's dislocated."
Javier hissed in sympathy. "I'm sorry, bro. That hurts like a bitch."
"Is your nose still bleeding?"
"My what?"
"Nose." Kevin looked at him like Javier had lost a few of his own brain cells during the altercation.
"You're asking about my nose right now?"
"I would have asked earlier, but we were busy."
"My nose is fine, idiot. You have any other boo-boos besides a jacked shoulder and severe mental impairment?" Kevin waited a heartbeat too long to reply negatively. Javier narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Tell me."
"You'll just laugh at me." Kevin shifted his weight slightly and the movement caused a look of extreme discomfort to ghost across his round face.
"After all we've been through, you think I'd laugh at you?"
"Yes." Javier sighed. Yes, he never missed an opportunity to rib his partner about his various misfortunes, but that's because all they were was a series of unfortunate and hilarious events. Javier distinctly recalled not laughing when he'd found his partner lying on the floor of Tyson's dirty hotel room with a concussion and Castle bound to a chair. He hadn't found it funny at all when Kevin was being held under icy water until he risked drowning, though Javier probably hadn't made the situation any better with his Your Mama joke. All that resulted from that incident was mild hypothermia and the Hispanic still couldn't look back on that night with any sense of humor. Beckett and Castle could vouch for his inability to sit still for two seconds while Kevin was undercover with the Irish mob and the way he'd nearly shit himself when Kevin's cover had been blown.
On the bright side, his partner knew all that just as well as Javier did. Which meant, if Kevin thought he would laugh at his hidden injury, it couldn't be that bad. Right? "Tell me, bro."
A little color came back into Kevin's white face as he admitted, "I think I split my tailbone when that asshole knocked me down again."
"Okay, so I'm too pissed right now to find that funny," said Javier. "But you are in for it when everything cools down."
"I hate you."
"Love you, too. You ready to leave this germ hole?"
"Hurts too much to move."
"What, your ass or your arm?"
"Javi."
"Sorry, sorry." The stress of the attempted kidnapping on top of their recent transformation was making him silly. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. If he gave into the ridiculousness of his situation, it wouldn't take long for his laughter to dissolve into hysteria. "We have to get out of here before Mom or Dad suffer a stroke. We'll get you to a nice, cozy, sterile hospital where everything will stop hurting." This whole time, Castle and Beckett had taken turns urging him to hurry up and drag Kevin out.
"Now I'm really not in the mood to move." Kevin followed his statement with a muffled groan. He shifted onto his side to relieve the pressure on his tailbone. Javier let him curl up against his side and rest his blond head on the older boy's shoulder. Kevin took long, slow breaths as he tried to ride out the pain.
"I'll make you a deal," offered Javier. "If you cowboy up and crawl back out of this awful tunnel, I'll let you tell people that you jumped further than me off the swing."
"That's not much of a deal. It's like promising to let the truth come out." Kevin lifted his head to give Javier a no-nonsense look. "Just because you're morally challenged…"
"You did not jump further than me," Javier argued. Maybe he said that a little too loudly.
"Are you two seriously arguing over the fucking swings again?"
"My money's on Dad having the stroke first," whispered Kevin. Javier twisted slightly so he could see the impatient adults peering at them like creepers. His mind must be playing tricks on him. There was no way that steam was actually leaking from Castle's ears.
"Javi, what's wrong?" asked Beckett. "Why won't you come out?"
"He dislocated his shoulder when that douche tried to play chicken with the Civic. He's too big of a baby to crawl back out because it hurts."
"Ass." Javier knew Kevin was calling him an unkind name. In revenge, he purposely misunderstood and added, "Oh, he bruised his cute little behind, too. Ow!" The pinch hurt. Javier barely stopped himself from whacking Kevin in the side of his scrambled head.
"What happened?"
"Little bitch pinched me."
"Javier, language."
"Shove it, hypocrite."
"He has a point, Castle," said Beckett in defense of her partner.
"Don't take his side." Castle pouted theatrically, momentarily putting away his anger. It came back in the form of dark humor. "You know, I have a friend in construction who could probably cut this thing open and have them out in less than an hour."
"They're coming out now. Right, Javi?"
"Don't rush us." Javier turned back to his partner. The actual shoulder joint was hidden from view by the sleeve of his shirt but the way Kevin's left arm hung limply at his side made Javier's stomach twist. "Come on, bro, I want to get out of here. I know it's gonna hurt, but you gotta follow me out of here."
"Just give me a few more minutes." Kevin returned to taking deep breaths. "It's cold in here… feels good."
"It's not that cold. How many more minutes do you need?"
"Ten."
"That's too many."
"Nine."
"Uh uh."
"Eight."
"No."
"Six."
"You skipped seven."
"Not feeling very lucky right now."
"You and me both, partner." Javier looked back towards Castle and Beckett. He could see more movement behind them and hear voices as emergency responders arrived to get Beckett's statement and tend to the wounded. "Time's up."
"We haven't come to an agreement yet."
"Well, I'm older than you so I get to decide. We're moving, now." Javier gently pulled away from Kevin, leaving the smaller boy sitting dejectedly by himself. "One inch at a time. You can do this, Kev."
"I don't want to go to the hospital." Kevin took a deep breath and held it as he slowly pushed himself to his knees. He swayed briefly and Javier feared he would faint, but Kevin held it together and pushed himself towards his partner. Javier settled for a modified crabwalk. He scooted backwards on his rear with his hands behind him for balance and his feet pushing off on the concrete. This way he could watch his partner the whole trek.
Despite the coolness of the shaded tunnel, Kevin was dripping sweat after only a few feet. Javier made sure to keep his gaze plastered to Kevin's face. He couldn't bear to look at the useless arm. "Just a little further. You've got this, bro."
They were now within reach of Beckett. Javier was taken by surprise when her arm slipped around his waist and hauled him the rest of the way out of the tunnel. As soon as he was clear, Castle was reaching for Kevin. The writer cradled his prize protectively against his broad chest, mindful of the painful injuries. Beckett hugged Javier tightly. She rested her chin on top of his head as she watched the paramedics tend to their partner. A young woman in EMT gear approached them, asking if Javier had any injuries. His nose had stopped bleeding forever ago so he told her than he was fine. Beckett supported his claim, though Javier wasn't sure if it was because she had his back or because she didn't want to release him. The EMT grudgingly backed away after handing Beckett a packet of wet wipes. The lead detective pulled one out and set to work distracting herself by wiping the grime off of Javier's skinned knees and palms. She wiped at the blood smear on his lower arm long after the redness was removed. Javier graciously ignored the salty water droplets that landed on his shoulder as she leaned over him for a better view of her work.
A familiar woman, far too beautiful even in her ME scrubs, came through the gate and hurried directly towards her best friend and ex-boyfriend. Lanie had her favorite cream fleece wrapped tightly around her shoulders as she fought off the encroaching chill the accompanied the setting sun. Even on the last day in June the heat didn't hang around long after the sun went down.
"I came as soon as I heard what was going on," she said breathlessly. Lanie took a minute to watch the EMTs huddled around Castle. When she turned back to Beckett and Javier her eyes were clouded with worry. "It's all just a joke, right? Someone didn't brazenly try to kidnap Javi and Kevin in the middle of a busy street?"
"Sounds like the kind of bullshit story Castle would make up, right?" Beckett squeezed his hand in silent reprimand.
"Let me hear everything, play-by-play." Since Beckett wasn't in the mood to share, Javier outlined the altercation. He made sure to go into great detail about how he earned his bloody nose and how he'd brought down the first perp with a well aimed taser shot. When he got to the part where the second perp had darted into traffic the story stopped flowing as easily. The memory of the car striking the suspect and sending him and his hostage flying over the hood of the vehicle replayed in his mind with startling clarity. Like a broken record, the sound of metal hitting flesh at thirty-five miles an hour thudded through his head until his stomach leapt to the rescue by returning his partially digested ice cream. He barely missed Beckett's feet.
"Javi!"
"Shh, shh, it's okay." Lanie grabbed her friend's shoulders and stared into Beckett's eyes as she willed the detective to not panic. "Breathe with me."
"What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing's wrong. Javi's fine. It just nerves. Little kids don't handle stress as well as adults. The events of this afternoon finally caught up with him, that's all." Lanie broke from the staring contest with Beckett when the detective slowly nodded her understanding. "Come here, baby." She held out an arm to her ex. Javier slid into her embrace, mainly for the purpose of hiding his embarrassment at being sick. She smelled like formaldehyde and other icky preservatives but underneath that, he could smell her citrusy body wash. He relaxed against her soft warmth as she rubbed his back and picked up her conversation with Beckett.
"Why did you two ever break up?" asked Beckett. Her obvious fatigue was making her tactless. His and Lanie's reasons for parting ways amicably were their own and it wasn't like Beckett to try to butt into other people's business.
"Javi's a little too preoccupied with a cute blonde up at the precinct and I didn't feel like competing for his attention," said Lanie candidly. Javier couldn't resist pulling away slightly so he could see the confusion dance across Beckett's face as she mentally imagined all of the fair-haired females that worked at the 12th. He refused to throw her a bone when she came up short.
The EMT returned to inform them that Sean's shoulder had been reset. Against her better judgment, they were allowing him to go home with his cousin instead of to the hospital.
"Excuse me? Sean?" Beckett asked the question that was burning through both Lanie and Javier.
"Yes, Sean Raley, the little boy. Mr. Castle's second cousin on his mother's side."
What an idiot. Javier rolled his eyes as Lanie hid her face against his shoulder to muffle her laughter. Beckett worked her jaw a couple of times, looking like a fish, before finally giving in and saying, "Thanks." After repeating the same instructions that she'd likely given Castle, the EMT left, only vaguely reassured by Lanie who flashed her medical license and promised to keep an eye on 'Sean.'
"Thank goodness she's more of a romantic than a mystery reader," joked Lanie.
"Is he stoned?" asked Javier. "Why would Castle give them that name?"
"It's not any worse than what I told Demming," mumbled Beckett.
"I'm sure it is."
"No big deal, she didn't catch on," said Lanie. "Come on; let's go collect Castle and Kevin." Beckett stood wearily and reached for Javier's hand once more. He squeezed her fingers tightly, trying to impart the comfort she was seeking. Lanie took his other hand and together the three of them walked to where Castle stood near the smelly concrete tunnel, cradling the sedated toddler. Through the small opening in the wool blanket someone had wrapped around his partner, Javier could see that Kevin's left arm was bound securely against his side with an ACE bandage.
"I'm so ready to get out of here," said Castle as the trio stopped before him. "Let's never have a day like this again."
"If you say so, Mr. Rook."
Castle was slow on the uptake but he eventually got the rib. "You try thinking under pressure when your head's spinning like a Tilt-a-Whirl."
to be continued…
Author's Notes:
I was very excited about the response to chapter nine. My readers are wonderful! Please continue to let me know what you think. If this chapter seems short, it's because its how long the chapters are actually supposed to be. I'm trying to decide if I should break eleven into two parts since it's twice as long as this one. I'm so long-winded...
I very much look forward to your feedback, so please let me know if you're still enjoying the story. I write for fun but I always want to improve, so constructive criticism is always welcome. All mistakes are my own.