A/N: A million apologies for the delay! I beg your forgiveness! *Grovels*

Disclaimer: Sadly, I have not acquired ownership of Castle in my absence.

xxx

"Steven Thorne, 29," Lanie said, gesturing to the body they'd brought in earlier that day, which now lay across her autopsy table. "AKA Moose."

"Moose?" Castle echoed.

Lanie shrugged. "No idea. But he tested positive for heroin and he's wanted on drug trafficking charges."

Kate groaned. "Great," she said. "A dealer."

"Still have to find out who killed him," Lanie reminded her. "It definitely wasn't an overdose."

Kate eyed the gunshot wound in Steve Thorne's head. "Clearly," she remarked. Sighing, she looked at her watch. It was nearly 9 o'clock. "Let's call it a night and start fresh tomorrow."

Castle and Lanie readily agreed. After saying goodnight to the ME, Kate headed for the elevator, Castle at her heels. He chattered away as they rode upstairs, telling her how he was having Ryan and Esposito over to play video games.

"Don't have too much fun," she told him as she paused at her desk to gather her things.

"We'll try," he promised. "G'night."

"'Night."

When she got outside, she sighed tiredly, wishing she'd driven to work. There wasn't a cab in sight. Groaning, she headed down the street, hoping to spot one.

She was still looking when a pair of hands grabbed her roughly from behind. Before she could react, her assailant had dragged her into an alley and slammed her hard against a brick wall.

She stared at the man, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

Owen Hammond.

"Hi, Katie," he said. Not tearing his gaze from her face, he called out, "Search her."

She gasped as another man stepped from the shadows.

"Peter…"

Peter Avery grinned widely. He'd been good looking once, but the years had not been kind to him. His skin was sallow and his hairline was receding. His hands were rough and cold as they patted her down, searching for her service weapon. He let out a cry of triumph when he found it clipped to her ankle.

"If you scream, I'll shoot," he warned her.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, struggling against Owen's vice-like hold.

"Why for old time's sake, Katie," Owen said. "And to teach you to watch what you say about us." Positively leering at her, he fumbled with the waistband of her pants.

Seeing his momentary distraction, she wrenched away, managing to kick him in the shins. He swung at her, fists flying. She managed to dodge a few of his punches before his fist connected with her face.

A moment later, she was staring down the barrel of her own gun.

"Don't even think about fighting us," Peter said. Owen nodded in agreement and flung her to the ground. She bit back a scream as he delivered a kick to her side. She tried to roll away but another kick stopped her.

"Come on, Katie," he said. "This'll be fun."

He knelt over her, swiftly unbuttoning her pants and sliding his hand inside. Gathering her strength, she rolled him off of her, scrambled to her feet, and took off. As she stumbled down the alley, she fumbled for her phone.

She doubted she could make it very far and she needed to call for help. Owen's footsteps were gaining…Desperately, she pressed speed dial number one.

Castle.

As Owen tackled her, wrenching her arm hard behind her back with a sickening crack, she swore she heard it ringing.

Xxx

Castle sat on Kate's desk, waiting for Ryan and Esposito to be ready. It was already getting late and he knew they'd have an early morning, what with the case and all.

Not that finding a drug dealer's murderer was particularly high on his list of priorities. But a case was a case. And they had to solve it.

He was just about to go and annoy the detectives into hurrying up when his phone rang. Confused, he glanced at the caller ID—it was Kate.

"Kate?" he said, pressing the phone to his ear. Nothing—just a few gasps and a muffled cry. A moment later, scuffling. Then silence. "Kate!" he cried. He whirled to face Ryan and Esposito. "Can you get a trace on Kate's phone?" he demanded.

Not needing to be told twice, Esposito turned to his computer. "She's just down the street," he said a moment later, grabbing his gun. A white faced Ryan did the same, along with two detectives Castle didn't know, who tagged along wordlessly.

Outside, Esposito led the way down the street to a narrow alley. When they rounded the corner, Castle nearly screamed.

Directly in front of them was a man holding a gun he recognized as Kate's. When he saw them, his eyes widened. Just behind him, Kate lay on the ground, another man kneeling over her. Her pants were around her ankles but his were—thank God—still on. She was clearly trying to fight him off—he'd taken a few blows to the face—but he had her pinned.

"Avery!" he shrieked when he saw them. "Do something!"

The man with the gun—Peter Avery, Castle assumed—flashed his companion a panicked look before firing.

Esposito went down.

Then, everything began happening very fast. Ryan shot and Avery collapsed. Then Ryan and the other two detectives charged forward to pull the other man—Owen Hammond, presumably—off of Kate, but not before she kneed him right between the legs. He howled in pain.

Castle had to grin at that—atta girl—but there were more pressing concerns at hand. He crouched beside Esposito, who was bleeding from the shoulder.

"You alright?" he asked worriedly. The detective nodded.

"I'm…fine…" he gasped. "Check…check on Beckett…"

Unconvinced but too worried about Kate to argue, Castle got up and hurried over to where Ryan was kneeling over the fallen detective. The other two were cuffing Hammond—and treating him extra roughly, Castle noticed.

"I've got this," he said to Ryan. "Call the paramedics and take care of Esposito."

Ryan nodded, glancing worriedly at Kate before hurrying off. Castle knelt beside her in his place.

"Kate," he said gently.

She blinked at him. "I was fighting him…" she gasped.

"I know," he said. "I saw. You really do kick some serious ass." Carefully, he pulled her partway into his lap.

"Esposito?" she asked.

"He's fine," he assured her, stroking her hair. He could already hear sirens. "And an ambulance is on its way."

She drew in a ragged breath, wincing in pain. "Thank you," she whispered. "You came…"

He shrugged. "Hey, you call, I come running. Isn't that how it works?"

She smiled faintly. "Yeah," she said. "Something like that."

He grinned back. "Exactly like that," he said. "Now just hang in there, okay? Stay with me."

"Okay," she said and she let him hold her until the ambulance arrived.

Xxx

When Kate opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was she was lying on a bed. The second thing she noticed was an IV in her arm

And the third thing she noticed was Castle holding her hand.

"Castle?" she croaked. His face lit up.

"Kate! You're awake!"

"Mmm-hmm," she agreed. "What time is it?"

"Almost six am," he informed her, adjusting her bed so she could sit up. She stared at him.

"Have you been here all night?" she asked.

"Just about." He studied her carefully. "How are you feeling?"

Thoughtfully, she assessed her body. There was a cast on the lower part of her left arm. Her left shoulder hurt but it wasn't immobilized. She eyed it curiously.

"Broken arm," Castle explained. "And you wrenched your shoulder pretty bad but the doc said it'll be okay as long as you take it easy."

She nodded. "What else?"

"A few cracked ribs, a few more bruised. No internal injuries, thank God. It could've been a lot worse."

"I know," she agreed, remembering. "How's Esposito?"

"He's fine," he assured her. "He needed surgery to remove the bullet but with some physical therapy, he'll be as good as new."

She sighed in relief. She never could have forgiven herself if anyone on her team had been badly injured saving her.

"And, um…" She cleared her throat. "Peter?"

"Unfortunately, he too will make a full recovery," Castle said. She rolled her eyes at him and he grinned.

"Does…does my dad know?" she asked worriedly. Instantly, Castle sobered.

"Yeah," he said. "Lanie and I went to tell him last night. I thought maybe it'd be best if he heard it from us."

She nodded. "That's good," she said. "Is he okay?"

He squeezed her hand. "He's fine. Worried about you, obviously. But he's okay. He called a friend and we waited with him until the friend got there. Someone named Frank. I think he's his…"

"AA sponsor," she interrupted, relieved. "Good." Whenever stress arose, she couldn't fight the nagging fear that her father would descend back into alcoholism. The idea scared her to death. Castle smiled gently at her.

"He wasn't alone at all," he promised. "And even if he had been…I don't think he would've done anything."

"I know," she said. "But thank you for making sure." She paused, smoothing the blankets nervously, unsure of how to proceed. "And, um, thank you for…" She trailed off, searching for the words. "For…for coming when I called."

A soft smile crossed his face. "Always," he said simply and she smiled back.

"So," she said, "when can I get out of here?"

He laughed. "Slow down, impatient one. You'll have to speak to your doctor. And speaking of doctors," he added, "I need to call Lanie. She's been worrying."

"Go," she urged him, "and then head home and get some rest. You look like crap."

"Always full of compliments," he teased. "But if you insist, I will go take a nap." With a quick grin, he kissed her cheek and strode from the room. She watched him go, smiling slightly.

Though she knew there were details to be worked out, statements to be given, and possible court appearances to be made, it finally felt over. She'd faced Owen once again.

And she'd won.

Xxx

A/N2: Again, soooooooo sorry for the delay. Massive writer's block! I'm hoping the next chapter will be up way sooner.