A/N: Sooooooooooooo sorry for the delay! I wrote this a few different ways and couldn't seem to get it right. I'm still not thrilled with it but here it is.

xxx

By afternoon, Kate was already going slightly crazy with boredom. She hated being cooped up and the doctor had insisted she remain in the hospital until at least the following day. For observation, he said.

Her father had already visited and left again. He hated hospitals. Lanie, too, had come and gone, staying long enough to give her a hug followed by a light slap on the head, and instructions to stop scaring her like that.

Now she sat alone, flipping listlessly through TV channels. She wanted to get out of the hospital and do something useful but her doctor was at least as stubborn as she was and wouldn't relent. Scowling, she changed the channel again, pressing the button with more force than was probably necessary.

"What'd the TV ever do to you?" a voice asked from the doorway. She turned to see Castle standing there and grinned, inexplicably pleased to see him.

"There's nothing on," she huffed. "I'm bored."

He chuckled. "I thought you might be. Are you up for a little field trip?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Field trip?" she asked curiously. He nodded.

"Esposito happens to be staying in a room just down the hall and he's anxious to see you." He strode to the bed and gallantly held out his arm. "Shall we?"

She nodded eagerly. She'd been anxious to see her fellow detective as well. She rolled her eyes as Castle helped her out of bed.

"Okay?" he asked anxiously.

"Fine," she assured him. But she leaned on him slightly all the same—she was quite beaten up. He wisely refrained from commenting and simply helped her along. When they stepped into Esposito's room, Ryan jumped up from a chair beside the bed and hurried to greet them.

"Beckett," he said, stopping in front of them. He hesitated briefly before pulling Kate into a hug. "You okay?" he asked in a low voice.

"I'm fine," she assured him, returning his embrace. She pulled back to look him in the eye. "Thank you," she said quietly. "For…" She trailed off. "Just…thank you."

He squeezed her uninjured shoulder. "We're a team," he said lightly. "You know I've always got your back."

She nodded, returning his smile as he ushered her toward the bed where Esposito sat propped up and looking good for someone who'd been shot the night before.

"Esposito," she sighed, sinking into a chair. He flashed her a lopsided grin and took her uninjured hand in his.

"Hey, Kate," he said. "You alright?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" she asked, blinking back tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey," he chided. "None of that. I'm fine."

"You were shot," she protested. "Why weren't you wearing vests?"

"We couldn't waste time getting to you," Ryan spoke up. Kate frowned at him.

"That makes me feel so much better," she said sarcastically. Esposito gripped her hand tighter.

"I'm fine," he reiterated. "I promise. And it was worth it to make sure you were okay, that he didn't…" Esposito paused, cleared his throat "…hurt you."

Knowing what he meant, Kate bent down and hugged him as best she could, avoiding his bandages.

"Thank you," she murmured. He patted her back.

"You're welcome," he said. She raised her head, smiling sheepishly.

"You're sure you're alright?" she asked Esposito. He chuckled and nodded.

"Everyone's fine, Becks. We promise." He patted her hand gently. "We're all going to be just fine."

Xxx

Castle watched the team interact, smiling to himself. After some initial heavy emotion, they were chatting easily now, bickering over the inaccuracies in the detective movie Esposito had playing on TV.

It was good to see them relaxed. The past few weeks had been stressful for all of them. And the past few hours…well, they were very lucky things hadn't turned out differently. Castle was horrified by what had happened but it could have been much worse.

He was just about to jump in and settle the movie dispute when Ryan's cell phone trilled.

"Ryan," he said crisply, sounding an awful lot like Beckett. "Uh-huh. Okay. Yeah. See you soon." He hung up, looking slightly sheepish. "That was Montgomery," he said. "We've got a lead on the drug dealer case. I gotta go." He looked at Castle. "You want to come, man? We could use you."

Castle shrugged. "Why not?" he decided. "You guys'll be alright, yeah?" he asked the other two. Kate rolled her eyes while Esposito nodded.

"I think we'll make it," he said. "Go on and find the scumbag who killed the scumbag."

Everyone laughed.

"You got it," Ryan said. "Be good, you two. No giving the doctors any trouble." He shot a pointed look at Kate, who Castle was beginning to sense was a notoriously difficult patient. She smiled innocently.

"Who, me?" she said. "Of course not."

Ooo

When he arrived back at the hospital in the evening, he found Kate lounging in bed, staring halfheartedly at the TV.

"Hey," she greeted him. "How's the case?"

He shrugged. "Alright. We've got a few leads."

She arched an eyebrow. "Care to share?"

"Sorry," he said. "Montgomery made me swear not to let you in on this one. He says you need to rest." This was only partially true. The leads were…pretty crazy, to say the least…and they'd all agreed to keep them from Kate and Esposito for now.

"Fine," she huffed, crossing her arms. "I was about to watch a movie," she offered. "Join me?"

He grinned. "Absolutely. Are there snacks?"

"Well, I was thinking about asking a nurse to bring me some ice-cream," she said, eyeing him. "I'm sure we could convince her to get some for you, too."

He flashed her his best charming grin. "You bet I can," he said. And, sure enough, ten minutes later, they each had a dish of ice cream in hand. As Kate flipped through the movie channels, Castle settled into a chair. She glanced at him.

"You could sit on the bed," she offered. Startled, he blinked at her.

"A-are you sure?" he stammered. She nodded and he settled carefully beside her on the bed, careful not to jostle her too much. "Good?" he asked. She nodded, actually leaning into his side.

"I haven't forgotten," she said quietly, "what we talked about when you came back…about Demming and Gina and all. And I don't know what I'm ready for…"

"Take your time," he urged, even as his heart leapt in his chest. She smiled.

"Thank you," she said. "I am. And this…this I'm ready for."

Grinning, he slid an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder lightly. "How are you feeling?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't shoot him for asking. Her brow furrowed.

"Alright," she said slowly. "Sore but alright." She looked at him carefully. "It could've been worse. Way worse."

"I know," he said. "But I'm still sorry it happened at all." The very thought of it made his chest tighten in anger.

"I know," she said quietly.

He glanced around, eyes falling on two new flower arrangements. "Where'd those come from?" he asked. She laughed.

"Your mother and daughter," she told him. "I already called them both to say thank you. It was very sweet of them."

"It's genetic," he teased, earning an eye roll.

"C'mon!" he protested. "I can be sweet."

"Okay," she allowed. "Maybe sometimes."

Xxx

Kate was relieved to get out of the hospital the next day. She hated being cooped up and was going stir-crazy. Even with orders to take it easy and not to go to work for a week, she was thrilled to be out of there.

"You're sure you'll be okay?" Castle asked as he walked her up to her apartment. She'd (albeit begrudgingly) agreed to let him drive her home.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Thank you for the ride."

"Anytime," he said. "If you want, you could come over for dinner tonight."

She shook her head. "I think I'm going to stay in," she said. "Besides, Lanie's coming over."

"Tomorrow, then?" he offered. She shook her head again, ignoring the prick of disappointment she felt.

"My dad's already invited me."

"Alright," he said. "Later this week, maybe."

"Sure," she agreed, hoping he didn't think she was blowing him off. "Really," she added quickly. "I'd like that."

"Okay," he said. "Call if you need anything, alright?"

She smiled. "I will. Have a good night, Castle."

"You, too," he said.

Once he was gone, she sagged onto the couch. She was tired and in more pain than she cared to admit. Owen had really given her a beating and the physical aches—as well as the memory—were fresher than she would have liked.

Owen had attempted—again—to violate her. Maybe kill her this time. And he'd nearly succeeded. If her friends hadn't shown up…

She shook her head. There was no use thinking about What Ifs. The fact was, she was fine. Esposito was fine. Owen and Peter would be locked up for at least a little while. Not long enough, as far as she was concerned, but awhile.

It infuriated her that they would get out and probably go on hurting people. Maybe not on the same scale but scumbags like them always found ways to do harm. And it was entirely possible they'd come back to haunt her yet again.

Kate shivered. She couldn't think about that. She couldn't let them make her live in fear. Onward and upward, her mother liked to say.

She hadn't let those creeps win yet. And she wasn't about to start.

Ooo

Two days later, she was getting restless. Tired of sitting around in her apartment, she caught a cab and headed to the hospital.

"Hey," she greeted Esposito as she strode into his room.

"Beckett," he said in surprise. "What are you doing here? I figured you'd be avoiding this joint like the plague."

She laughed. "I was bored so I thought I'd stop by." At his raised eyebrow, she cringed. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I wanted to see you."

He grinned. "Can't just enjoy some time off?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Sadly, no."

"Well pull up a chair," he invited. "Stay awhile."

She obeyed, dragging a chair close to the bed. "When do you think they might let you go home?" she asked.

"Dunno. I guess when you get shot they don't set you free straight away," he teased. She nodded bleakly as his attempt at humor fell flat.

"I really am sorry," she said. "When I called for help, I wasn't thinking that I'd put you guys in danger…"

"I'm fine," he interrupted firmly.

"You were shot," she argued, the knots of guilt in her chest tightening.

"And I'm fine," he argued back. "What would have happened if we hadn't come?"

She shrugged. "I might've fought them off," she muttered stubbornly. He sighed.

"There were two of them and one of you. They had weapons and had taken yours. You can kick ass with the best of 'em but be reasonable, Beckett."

Frowning, she kept her gaze on the floor. When she didn't speak, he continued.

"They would have raped you, Kate," Esposito said grimly. "Both of them, probably. And then they probably would've killed you."

"They could've killed you," she argued. "Or Ryan or Castle…" She felt small and miserable and guilty. Sure, she'd gotten away relatively unharmed but it was finally hitting her what kind of danger she'd put her friends in. Not to mention Baxter and Rodriguez, the other two cops at the scene…cops she barely knew.

"We were willing," Esposito told her. "And as for Rodriguez and Bax…we didn't even ask them. They just came." He looked at her steadily. "Everyone's fine," he said. "And you didn't do anything wrong."

She raked her fingers through her hair. "I'm still sorry," she said.

"I know. But none of it was your fault."

"I guess," she mumbled. He patted her hand.

"It wasn't," he said firmly. "I promise."

Ooo

She and Esposito had settled in to watch a movie when Castle and Ryan crashed into the room. Astonished, Kate jumped up, ignoring the pain the movement sent jarring through her ribs.

"What the hell?" she asked.

Ryan was beaming, looking positively giddy. "We got the killers on the drug-dealer case!" he cried. Kate stared at him.

"Okay…" she said slowly. She didn't see what was so exciting about solving this particular case. Ryan was still grinning like a fool while Castle jumped from foot to foot like an excited kid, juggling a case file in his hands.

"And why is that important enough for you two to run in here loud enough to wake the dead?" Esposito asked. Ryan laughed in excitement.

"We'll explain," he said, taking Kate's hands and pulling her back to her chair. "Sit," he instructed, beaming. "I had a brainstorm the day after we took down Hammond and Avery," he explained. "I had some guys on Karpowski's team look into it." He grinned widely. "They found some stuff so Castle and I looked closer."

"You'd be proud," Castle added. "We were really thorough. Covered all our bases so we're sure it'll hold up in court."

"And?" Kate prodded, still not seeing the significance. Castle waved the case file at her.

"It was them," he said. "It was Hammond and Avery. They killed the drug dealer."

Kate nearly fell out of her chair. "Wh..What?" she managed to gasp. Esposito was staring silently, mouth agape.

"They'd been using for awhile," Ryan said. "It could explain a lot, really. Anyway, they killed the drug dealer, right? Attacking you was a way to shut you up and get you out of the way…not to mention payback for the press conference and all."

"And…and you're sure?"

Castle nodded. "We're all sure. The Captain…Everyone." He grinned. "They're going to jail, Kate. For life. They won't ever hurt anyone again."

Kate was crying; she couldn't help it. The tears bubbled up and flowed freely down her face. "Oh my God," she whispered.

"Yeah," Ryan agreed. "Pretty much."

With a strangled sob, Kate threw her arms around and hugged him tightly before moving onto Castle.

"Thank you," she choked out. "Thank you." Impulsively, she leaned back in his arms and kissed him. When she drew away, he was staring at her. She smiled slightly. Not needing any more encouragement, he kissed her deeply, mumbling against her lips.

"You're welcome."

Xxx

A/N: I can't help but feel this chapter is a little clichéd. But I wanted those bastards in jail forever without hurting more innocent (though fictional) people. Anyway, thanks for reading. There'll be at least one more chapter and probably an epilogue.