They were able to get into the maternity ward without too much hassle, while Castle parked the car, and with every step, Alexis' heart was pounding.

'This is how I imagine you feel in airplanes, Shane,' Alexis murmured in the elevator, watching the numbers ding past until they reached floor eight. She was out of the lift car like a shot and marching straight towards the nurse's desk at such a clip Shane nearly had to sprint to keep up with her.

'Alexis, it'll be fine.'

'Now say it like you're trying to convince me and not yourself. Garrett!'

Alexis' called out her friend's common-law spouse's name as he stepped into the hallway with his cellphone in hand. He snapped it shut and advanced towards them.

'You,' he snarled at Alexis, pointing a shaking finger at him. 'You have some nerve, you bitch, ignoring your so-called best friend like that all weekend.'

'Hey, watch your mouth, man,' Shane said, instinctively leaping to defend his woman's honour.

'Stay out of this, it's between me and Alexis.' Garrett's stance was combative, his expression thunderous. 'You knew Sloan was close to popping and you weren't there for her like she's been there for you the last how many months, busting her ass planning for your wedding.'

'Sloan stepped down as my maid of honour almost two months ago, Garrett, because I didn't want her to feel obligated to help me out while she was getting towards the end of her pregnancy!' Alexis hissed.

'The hell you have, you're nothing but a spoiled selfish little brat, like I've always told her. I tried to warn her about you but she wouldn't listen to me. God, I have never met someone so self-involved.'

'Self-involved? I am in medical school, I am living away from my fiance and family and friends, Garrett, and studying pretty much around the clock.'

'Then why weren't you answering her yesterday?'

'I am on my reading week and I was on a trip with my fiance.'

Garrett let out a sharp laugh. 'I don't believe you. I'm supposed to feel sympathy for you, you snotty little cunt?'

At the use of the C-word, a thin red haze coated Alexis vision and she actually shoved her jacket sleeves up as she stepped up towards Garrett. 'You listen to me you son of a-'

But she was already being shoved sideways and she heard the sharp crack of bone and cartilage, watched Shane stumble backwards with a hand pressed against his face as blood fountained from his nose. 'Jesus, Garrett, are you crazy?' Alexis hollered at him.

'He deserved it, and-'

'Hey!'

All three turned towards the sound of Castle's voice and for the first time in her life, Alexis felt fear at the sight of her father. His eyes were burning hot as he all but sprinted down the hall. He blew past Alexis and Shane like they were mannequins and drilled his finger into Garrett's chest.

'You ever lay hands on my son-in-law, or you even think about speaking to my daughter like that and I will end you. No one treats my family like that.' Castle lowered his voice, changed his tone from outrage to disbelief in a heartbeat. 'Where's your head at, Garrett? Sloan is having your baby today, she doesn't need you out here acting like a caveman, throwing punches and slurs around.'

'But-'

'No, no buts Garrett. You are becoming a father today, and your girlfriend, wife, whatever you want to call her, needs you by her side. She doesn't need you doing this.'

'I'm going to go in and see her, Shane, are you okay?'

'I'll take care of him, you go sit with your friend, honey,' Castle told his daughter gently, then clapped Shane on the shoulder. 'Come on, we'll go get you fixed up.'

Alexis didn't bother looking back at her father and her hubby, as she knew the former would take care of the latter with as much love as if it were herself that were injured. Turning on her heel and walking past Garrett she went into Sloan's room and let out a little cry when she saw Sloan puffing out little breaths as she worked her way through a contraction. When it was over, Sloan's pain-and-drug dulled eyes flicked towards the door and brightened slightly when she saw Alexis there.

'Lexy,' she sighed, shifting her body. 'Oh, you made it in time.'

'Sloan, sweetie, I am so sorry I wasn't here sooner.'

'I was trying to reach you, where have you been?' Sloan asked sadly, eyes filling up.

'Shane surprised me Friday afternoon with a trip to the Bahamas for the weekend. I was out of the country until this morning, we just landed at JFK when I called you.'

Sloan reached out, patted her friend's hand. 'Lex, I didn't even come to the hospital until this morning. My water was late breaking so it's not like you missed much. Me walking around the apartment yelling at Garrett to stop being such a disgustingly selfish bastard. God, I am so angry at him! He was acting like I was a big suck because I was having contractions and since plenty of women around the world use no pain drugs and make it just fine I should stop my bitching. His words, I might add,' she tacked on, tucking a rope of her long black hair behind her ear.

'Well, then maybe you might not want to hear what he just did to Shane.'

'Why, what the fuck did he do now?'

'He broke Shane's nose, when he went to take a swing at me and Shane got between us,' Alexis replied bluntly, shocked to hear Sloan's strong language. Sloan could be accused of being many unladylike things but a trucker mouth was not one of them. 'Sloan? What's been going on that you haven't been telling me?'

'In a minute.'

Sloan watched as Garrett came in the room, the knuckles of his right hand raw and red. 'What is wrong with your hand, Garrett?'

'I punched a wall,' he replied numbly. 'Why is she here? I don't want her around you.'

'You didn't punch a wall, you broke Shane Weaver's nose, you fucking moron,' Sloan sneered, shaking her head. 'And that's it. I've had it with you. You've been nothing but belittling and condescending to me since Christmas and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of you thinking I don't need special attention, that I don't need extra rest because of the changes in my body and I'm sure as shit sick of you thinking that being there for me during the delivery means handing out cigars in the waiting room while the nurses do their 'sister magic' on me.'

Alexis held her tongue even as tears spilled over. Had she really become that insufferable that she hadn't listened to her best friend when things had gotten this rough for her at home? The thought was pushed from her mind as another thought jammed in - no wonder Sloan had been relieved to be relieved of maid of honour duty. She went to slip away to give Garrett and Sloan their privacy but found herself anchored into position by Sloan's iron grip on her arm.

'Do you have anything to say for yourself, Garrett?'

'Sloan, come on, you're making way to o big a deal of this. The guy had it coming,' Garrett started, and Sloan waved her hands definitively.

'No, Garrett. No I'm going to guess he didn't. And that's it for me. I can't take you acting like this anymore, it makes me fear for my own mental health and safety, and for the safety of the baby.'

'You can't do this alone, Sloan.'

'I would rather be a single mother to this child, than raise it with you if you think punching someone after you used the most foul disgusting language against my best friend when she didn't deserve it is acceptable role-model behaviour.'

'Fine, you want to be a stubborn bitch? Go ahead, I hope you and the little runt are happy on your own because you won't get anything from me. I'm outta here.'

And just like that, Alexis watched as a six-year relationship crumbled to dust. It felt like a tornado had gone through the birthing suite and just as Sloan looked around, the gravity of what she'd done hitting home, her faced pokered up at the next contraction.

'Lex,' she whimpered; god it hurt, even with the drugs.

'It's okay, Sloan, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere.'

As Alexis helped Sloan with her contractions, Shane and Castle sat waiting in the ER for the doctor to clean up Shane's face, assess the damage and give him a painkiller prescription. God his face ached, Shane thought Garrett might have been a small guy but he packed one hell of a right jab.

Beside him, Castle had finished filling in the information on his health background and sat with his hand fold in his lap. 'What exactly precipitated this little throw-down?' he asked, hoping he didn't sound like an interfering father in law.

'Garrett got in Alexis' face, started telling her how she was an awful friend to Sloan who didn't deserve to see her, et cetera et cetera, and then he called her a...the C-word, and Alexis got in his face. I stepped in to break it up so he wouldn't punch her and took the hit in my face instead of hers.'

'You're a good man, Shane Weaver,' Castle replied.

'I just hope that Sloan's okay. It...Alexis is worried about her, I feel like there should be more that we could have done for her, you know?'

'Hindsight gets you nowhere fast, Shane. All you can do is assess the situation here and now, and move forward.'