For several reasons, this has taken forever to update. Three different times, Fanfiction has erased this chapter, forcing me to rewrite it three times and irritating me unmeasurably. Also, freshmen track has started, and I have varsity meets every Saturday and then an acting class which is all extremely busy- but I always make sure I find time for Fanfiction because I love to write. If the uploading process still messes me up in the future, then chapters will take longer and I do apologize for the wait! Anyways, this was a hard chapter to write. I couldn't perfect some scenes I wanted to. I still think the dialog is a bit eh... However, I hope you like this chapter anyways, and please review!! :)

"Please?"He begged, presenting a puppy-dog look. She was tired of work, and just wanted to go home; but she had been turning them down ever since they first met.

She rolled her eyes in a displeasing manner, "Fine, Castle. But just one drink." He squealed with and jumped off of the edge of her desk from which he'd been sitting. He politely extended his hand to help her up from her seat. She sighed as if annoyed. "I can get up by myself, Castle." She stood up, catching a quick glimpse of his face- the smile was unmistakably his, and it was full of joy.----

The bar was a typical bar in New York. Rough music played loudly over the speakers and pool members hit around pool cubes around the smoke infested environment. On duty, Kate Beckett would've been completely disgusted by this lifestyle, but now that she was free to do whatever, she found it entertaining. Castle led her over to the barstool, dressed in his tailored suit, causing some of the thick-skinned pool players to glance over and exchange a bit of a snicker.

After a moment, he brought her a glass of vodka, smiling, "Ah, vodka." he handed it delicately to her, "I'm sorry, but this is a total Nikki Heat drink."

For the next two hours, they laughed admirably with each other. Telling stories of their past full of humor. At work, Kate teased him constantly, but that night at the bar she'd felt a connection. A connection that made her the least bit pissed when she realized she was into him. Whenever he'd say something funny, she couldn't help but admire his sense of humor. And whenever she made him laugh, he'd throw his head back, chuckling warmly from deep within the chest, making her grin grow.

I can't be attracted to him! She thought after a moment. But she knew she wasn't fooling anyone- not even herself. Over the past few days, she'd thought about how he had become a large portion of her life. His uniqueness when it came to case solving always left her astounded; and she'd discovered how much she was concerned for his well being. Of course at times, she felt like shooting him with her gun- but he was also so innocent.

It was settled in Kate's mind: there was no doubt that they had chemistry, and she wanted to investigate it. For the first time, she'd actually thought about a future with the writer, and it made her happy. As they left, and walked aimlessly throughout the parking lot, she wanted to be with him, as strange as it sounded to her. She wanted that for them...

* *

Kate woke up to the sound of her own breath. She sat up, unaware of her surrounding but caught on almost immediately. She slouched uncomfortably in a wooden chair with pathetic padding. She squinted, attempting to destroy the fatigue in her as she guided her eyes around the room.

I must've dozed off. She thought.

Alexis was slumped over as well, sitting on the opposite side of Castle's bed. Her face was hidden by the mess of tangled orange hair was flew wildly around her shoulders. To the right of her was Martha, whose head was rest against Alexis'. Kate was satisfied when she heard the soft snoring from the two of them as she discovered they were sleeping. She repositioned herself into a more suitable posture, parting her hair behind her ears and straightening her crinkled, button down blouse that she'd replaced earlier.

She was exhausted. Castle had been shot over ten hours ago; and in that time she'd accepted that he was going to die, then that he might live, and then to top it all off, that the very same man who had shot Castle in the first place, was mysteriously connected to her mothers killer. Over the past few hours, she'd been completely excited and pumped with adrenaline, that the sleepless night finally caught up with her.

Kate drew a relaxed breath as she tried to adjust to the bright light. She looked at him briefly, able to examine his features now that the nurses had removed the unsettling tube that had previously been down his throat. She turned away again after a moment, pondering about everything. A slight groan caught her attention, and her head twisted automatically to Castle. He had shifted a little, and for once she'd heard him inhale deeply instead of the pumping of the machines. Her mind fixed on him, glued to his manner until his eyes opened just the slightest bit.

"Castle?" she asked, standing up quickly from the seat. His cobalt eyes fluttered up to her standing, but his emotion remained stiff. She made an attempt to move in closer, gliding gracefully next to him. "Rick?" Castle's eyes were about half way open as he looked at her.

Castle watched her tastefully, she'd never looked as stunning before as she did at that moment. He could've sworn he saw concern in her face and he tried to speak to her, but for the first time, he was lost for words. He wanted to touch her, the be sure that all of this was real. That she was real, that he was alive and not in some Nikki narrated fantasy. He attempted to lift his hand to reach for her, although the extreme weight of his body limited him to reach six inches off the bed.

Kate watched intently as his hand moved upwards, his fingertips curling- drawing her in. With one leap, she was by his bedside. She grabbed his hand, smiling. "Rick."

"Beckett?" he whispered quietly. His voice was hoarse and raspy, but Kate was still unable to contain her glee.

"Hey." she exhaled a quiet laugh, then pulled the chair up from behind her, sitting as close a possible although she refused to let go of his hand, "You're awake." her smile grew larger.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking a bit disturbed; as if he'd been waiting just to be satisfied with her safety.

"I'm fine, Alexis is here, your mother's here. Everyone's just worried about you." she assured him, pointing to the women snoozing in the corner.

"I didn't know if he hurt you too. I tried to tell you his name." he asked, his words slurring inaudibly together but Kate understood.

"Yes, I heard you. I know. We've got everyone looking for him now, Castle. There's no need to worry, we're going to catch him. I promise." she nodded, watching his eyes scan the room. His expression contained the most emotion Kate had ever seen in him. "Do you remember what happened?"

His face expression snapped to complete and utter terror, and he nodded hesitantly. "Yes."

"It's okay. He's gone, nobody can hurt you." She felt a bit awkward by saying this. She'd never been one to comfort anyone besides the victims families, but when it came to friends and family, she never nurtured. But Castle looked so incredibly afraid, that she would've been foolish not to say anything to ease him. "You just have to rest, alright?"

"I just needed to know you were okay." Kate was astonished. She never knew anyone had ever been so concerned for her. Sure, Castle seemed to be drawn to her, but after ten hours of being unconscious from a sever gunshot wound, his first few words were directed towards her well being. His eyes were desperate, both sunken by fear and exhaustion, but also wild with awareness.

"I can't say I'm entirely okay. My shadow has been absent for an entire night." She was relieved when he chuckled quietly, "You really scared me, Rick."

"I'm sorry." he apologized sincerely.

"Accepted. You scared us all, you know that? Alexis has been wide awake over you. The doc said you weren't gonna make it, but you proved him wrong."

"Yeah..." Castle finally allowed a smile to crease across his lips. "I'm like a jedi like that."

* *

Ryan and Esposito were perched at their computers, investigating in silence, when a demanding familiar voice caught their attention.

"What did you guys find?" they looked up to see Captain Montgomery approaching them. He, just like Beckett, had been very distant in this case. Perhaps it was painful for him, as well as it was for her, but he seemed to only want the facts and provided little ideas.

Esposito jumped up and nearly catapulted himself to Ryan's desk to help explain, "We got the security footage from the bar."

"Yeah, and it took us a while but get this." Ryan opened up the footage from his computer, "So this is Beckett and Castle sitting at the bar," he said, using his pointer finger to indicate where they were sitting. "They stay there from 8:32 to 10:28. But see this guy right here?"

The Captain's eyes moved to the left side of the frame, opposite to Castle and Beckett. There was a man sitting there, eating slowly from the bowl of peanuts. He was dressed in casual jeans and a deep red t-shirt, looking like a typical American man. "Yeah..." Montgomery said slowly.

"That's William Ericson." Ryan said blankly.

"Naw." Captain protested, shaking his head defiantly, "No, Beckett confirmed that the man was dressed in black only, and that his face was covered with black charcoal or something like that. This man doesn't fit the profile."

"Yes, but watch. Becket and Castle leave at 10:28, but Ericson leaves with them, only two minutes earlier than them. We had to get a court order before the owner of the bar would give us the audio, but about to minutes before they leave, Castle asks the bar tender for the bill. Ericson is close enough to hear this, so he makes his way to the back of the bar."

"And?"

"And so he leaves and that's when he changed into his robber costume. He has just enough time to slip into his disguise so that he can follow them to the back of the parking lot." Esposito explained.

"How do you know that?" Roy asked.

"Because the cameras follow Beckett and Castle to the door as their leaving, and there's a guy standing by the door dressed in all black with a red t shirt in his hands. The only thing that's different is that his face isn't covered yet. However, along with the t shirt, he's holding a can of black face paint." Ryan punched in on the mans left hand in which he, in fact, held a children's face paint and a t shirt. Montgomery watched as he eyed Beckett and Castle leave before he slips behind them, just far enough so they don't suspect anything."

"So Ericson was stalking Castle for a while before he shot him." Captain understood, and he was a little disturbed. "Do you have footage of the parking lot?"

"No, the bar doesn't have a camera out there. But, we did get an address. We were just going over to pick up Beckett to go catch him."

Montgomery nodded, pleased with them, "I'm going to come with you." So rarely did the Captain put down his work to go out on the streets to be involved in the action, but when he did, one would know automatically that he was most determined.

"ALright then," Esposito nodded, "Then lets go get her."

Okay, just incase some of that didn't make sense, I'll explain it:

William Ericson was watching Beckett and Castle at the bar and when he heard that they were about to leave, he went out the back and changed into all black, just like the robber who shot Castle was dressed as. Ryan and Esposito knew it was him because he was carrying a can of black face paint, and a red t shirt- like the one that man was wearing in the bar. And Ericson followed them out the door, but since there were no outdoor security cameras, Ryan and Esposito don't have any further proof of Ericson following them past the bar.

If that still doesn't make sense, please tell me. Sometimes I write things that make sense to me, but in reality make no sense whatsoever LOL. And so please ask questions and I will clarify:)

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Please please review- it makes me so happy to hear your comments and constructed criticism is welcomed with a smile. Thanks again, and have a great day! :)

~ShinyLane1.2