Just as Beckett was getting out of the shower, she heard her phone ringing in the next room. "I'm coming." She murmured as she dodged moving boxes in her townhome in LA. It made her wonder how she got here; how things had changed so suddenly. She'd probably still be in New York if she hadn't gotten the call from the LAPD. They had told her they hadn't wanted her for years, saw what she had done on the Royce's case. They told her they finally had an opening. She had accepted, needing to escape from the mess that had been her life. Castle had left, she had been down. But then he tried to make it right when she really should have been. But she left anyways. Now that she thought about it, was it worth it?

She was expecting the phone call to be from work, but when she looked at the caller ID, it was Ryan. "Beckett."

"It's Ryan." Something in his voice made her perk up. It wasn't his usual, chipper tone. He sounded distraught, like something had happened.

"Ryan, what's going on?" She stood in her bedroom, still in her towel, preparing herself for whatever bombshell he was going to drop on her.

"Look, I know things between you and Castle still aren't good, but it's important" She could tell he was pacing, and he hadn't said exactly what was going on.

Her heart stopped. Something happened to Castle. Her entire world began to crack. She had to keep it together. "What is it?" She was already trying to shrug into clothing as she waited for his response.

"Castle had been getting threats about how he's no longer protecting you. Saying that you left and he let you and that you were trying to get a jump on them by joining another force. They said that they could now come for you."

"Who could come for me?" She was now dressed, and packing a bag, trying to rummage through the boxes and find her things.

"The people who've wanted you dead for your mother's case." Ryan still wasn't telling her exactly what had happened.

"Ryan, tell me what happened." She tried not to scream at him, but her nerves were through the roof.

"He got held at gunpoint and forced into a car. The demanded to know where you were, but Castle wouldn't talk. So the man turned the air conditioner on and locked Castle in the car. It was laced with poison. We found him, though, and the hospital thought he only had three days to live. We found an antidote, though, and we're at the hospital."

She shuddered at the similarity to the DC case. The thought of losing him two separate times to the same scenario made her cringe. And although she visibly shuddered, the memories flooding her, her feet and expression were frozen. She had been trying to block out New York, build a new image in LA.

Everything about the east coast was painful. She had been trying to tell herself that her brain and heart were playing games with her. She had tried to believe that she could live without Castle. But she was wrong.

"Beckett, you there?" Ryan pulled her out of her thoughts.

"I'll be on the next flight out." She was already darting to the door.

"Okay."

"Bye." And with that, she was on her way back to New York.

Espo came up behind Ryan as he ended the call. "Who was that?"

"Beckett." Ryan answered him, waiting for his response. He knew Javi was still angry with her.

"Why did you even try, bro? She wants nothing to do with us. She moved and completely blocked us out."

"Espo, she's our sister. And they're still technically married. She would have wanted to know." Ryan tried justifying his actions.

"My sister would never do that to the people she cares about." Espo shook his head and stormed out, still too angry about it all.

"You did the right thing." Lanie said, rising from her seat.

"You really think so?" Ryan ran a hand through his hair.

"She needs to come home."

"Yeah, and I want our family back." Ryan gave her a half smile before sitting back down in the waiting room.

"Me too." Lanie answered, going off to find Javi.

Hours later, Beckett rushed into the waiting room where Ryan, Lanie, and Espo were still sitting. She was out of breath, not taking a single second to stop and relax. She had to see him. "Where is he?"

"In there sweetie." Lanie pointed to the door just down the hall.

"Can I see him?" The plea came out as a whimper, emotion finally finding her.

"Go." Was all Lanie said.

Beckett walking into the room, setting eyes on a pale figure laying in the bed. She walked towards Castle hesitantly, not wanting to disturb him. She pushed the hair away from his face and kissed his forehead. She pulled the chair up next to the bed, and just as she did, Castle woke up.