Yeesh…so apparently I got quite a few people mad for mentioning that fact that Beckett had been wearing different clothes and looked different and stuff in the last chapter…so…so sorry if I offended anyone…I was just wondering if I was the only one who was thinking that.

Anyway…on with the story…. :)

…ooo...ooo…ooo…ooo…

Ryan and Esposito, leading the group, motioned silently for Castle to unlock the door, and both held their guns at the ready and he swung the door open wide.

Screams of "NYPD" and "Put your hands where I can see them!" filled the room as Ryan and Esposito filed in through the door, followed by the other cops that came along. It only took a moment before someone yelled "Gun!" and shots began to ring out.

Rick stood outside in the hallway, his back pressed against the wall, and stared blankly forward. He had been told to stay there until they cleared the room, and, although he normally wouldn't have obeyed, he didn't want to risk anything that Kate's life could be depending on, and stayed where he was. However, as soon as he heard the gunshots, he wanted nothing more than to be in there.

Rick could almost picture what was happening in the room just behind the wall he was leaning on when the gunshots stopped. All of the vested officers would still have their guns up, scanning the room before they all left their spots, some to clear the rest of the loft, a couple to go up to kick away the guns from the limp bodies on the floor. The only part Rick couldn't make out in his head, however, was where Kate was in the picture. There were too many possibilities as to what her situation could be.

"Someone call an ambulance!" He heard the rough voice of one of the unfamiliar officers call out. Then, moments later, Esposito appeared outside the door and looked at Castle. His hands were bloody, and Castle felt his stomach drop…who had been hurt? As soon as he gave him a nod of approval, Rick walked quickly into the loft, looking around for any sign of Beckett.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Kate sat in a wooden chair that the men had placed in the center of the loft, straight in front of the door. Her hands had been tied tightly to the back of the chair, and her ankles were tied down to the chair legs.

The two men stood a few feet behind her, talking in hushed voices that she couldn't make out. All she knew about their plan at this point was that they were planning on waiting for the moment Rick came home so that they could kill her in front of him.

The thought of death hadn't ever really scared her too much. It couldn't, in her line of work. However, now, sitting in the middle of her home, seeing the toys still scattered around messily of her daughters, and picturing the last time she was in here, carefree, with her family surrounding her…she was terrified at the fact that the time was coming. And…she wasn't ready. She wasn't married yet…she hadn't seen her little girls grow up, hadn't been able to see what they would become. She'd never know if they would grow up to look more like her or their father.

Her vision began to blur slightly as she stared down at the ground, and a tear ran down her cheek.

Almost immediately after the first tear escaped, she heard the noise of a key turning the lock outside of the door. Her head snapped up, and she tried to blink away the tears quickly, but in the process only a few more started to fall. The men behind her turned silence, and she heard their footsteps coming up on either side of her. The cool barrel of a small revolver was suddenly pressed roughly into her temple. She only barely saw the door swing open through the blurriness the tears lingering in her eyes were causing.

She expected to hear a gunshot, maybe a scream, then nothing more. However, what she did hear, surprised her completely. The sudden yells of her fellow NYPD officers commanding the men standing on either side of her to put their hands up. One person yelled out gun, and then, the shots she had been waiting for came.

She felt herself relax almost immediately after the gun pressed up to her head fell, along with the man holding it. However, that sense of calm only lasted a moment. She looked over to see what state the other man was in, but only caught a glimpse of him for a fraction of a second. He had been hit, also, but still had a gun in his hand, and was aiming it straight at her head.

The next thing she knew, the chair she was tied up to was on its side, and a searing pain was ripping through her side, and, when she looked down, a small, circular hole in her shirt was quickly becoming stained red with blood.

She let her head fall back and closed her eyes for a moment with a sigh. Then, it seemed as though all in the same moment, it seemed like everyone was surrounding her. Somebody was cutting at the ropes that tied her arms behind her back, and somebody else at the ropes around her legs. Then, she saw Esposito next to her, looking at her with wide, worried eyes, and applying pressure to the bullet hole in her side.

"Where's Castle?" She croaked, inwardly cringing at the sound of her voice. Esposito looked from her, then to one of the officers next to him. He then stood up swiftly, walking out of the room, while another one of the officers took his place.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Rick hurried into the room, his eyes immediately being drawn to the huddle of people huddled around something…someone. His stomach dropped as he walked quickly over to the huddle. Then, he peeked over the rows of heads at where Beckett lay, and, if not for the large amount of blood seeping through her shirt, he would have smiled. When he pictured people who had been shot, he pictured them fearful, determined, angry, in pain…not annoyed. However, that was the only emotion he could read on Kate's face at the moment…she looked solely annoyed at the fact that she was in the situation she was.

"Kate," He said softly, having squeezed in beside her. Her head turned towards his voice, and he could almost see all the annoyance fade from it, and relief fill her eyes instead.

"Rick," She sighed, "Where are the girls?"

"With mother and Alexis," He told her with a grin, then, his smile faded, and worry filled his eyes again as he looked down at her bleeding side, "Are you ok?"

Kate rolled her eyes at him and said stubbornly, "Of course I am."

Ricked nodded once, knowing that disagreeing with her would only make her more annoyed. He didn't believe her, though. While doing various types of researches for his novels, he had found that even the least fatal of wounds could end…badly. In fact, he really didn't start breathing normally again until he was in the hospital waiting room, and the doctor came out and told him that Kate would be completely fine.

Alexis and Martha showed up at the hospital with Kylee and Nella about a half hour after Rick had gotten there. The girls had ran up to their father and looked up at him with blinding smiles,

"Is mommy back now?" They asked him happily. Rick grinned down at them, nodded, and wrapped them both in a big hug.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Ackk…I really didn't like the ending of this chapter.. :/

Aanndddd next chapters gonna be the last one…. :((( sniffle sniffle…its almost over… :(

Anyway….reviews are always nice… :D