Author's note: This is a little short, but I did that on purpose, because I only wanted one 'scene' in this one.

OOOOOOOOO

Despite his surprise, Castle used his good arm to hug Joel tightly as the boy squeezed him. He was genuinely relieved to see the boy, since it meant that he really was okay.

"Hey, Joel," he murmured. "How are you doing?"

The boy grinned up at him.

"Good."

"Can we come in?" Martin asked sarcastically, drawing Castle's attention from the boy.

His sense of humor taking over, he smiled.

"You're knocking? And asking to come in, even, huh?"

Martin shrugged, and brushed by him, careful not to touch the arm with the sling.

"Wouldn't want you to call the cops on us."

"Speaking of…" Castle said, moving aside and guiding Joel into the loft as well. "You just missed Detective Beckett."

"I know."

The way he said it made Castle realize the timing was way too good. He'd missed Beckett on purpose.

"Oh."

He was reminded that Theo Martin wasn't a friend coming by for dinner. He was a mobster. And from what Beckett had told him about the people who had been shot and even burned to death was any indication, he was also extremely dangerous.

"Joel was worried about you," Martin told him, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "Weren't you?"

Joel nodded with a wide smile.

"Yeah."

Castle echoed that smile.

"I'm fine."

"Joel, do me a favor and go watch TV for a minute, will you? I want to talk to Mr. Castle."

The boy nodded and went over to sit on the couch, picking up the remote control to find something interesting. Castle looked over at Martin, curiously.

"Want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." They walked into the kitchen and Martin waved Castle to one of the seats by the island. "I'll get it, you sit down."

It wasn't hard to find the coffee pot, after all, and Castle only had one hand to use. Martin obviously didn't want to wear his coffee.

"So…" Castle asked, after the mobster had put a cup of coffee in front of him. "You want to talk to me?"

Martin shrugged.

"I wanted to thank you. And apologize."

"Thank me?" Castle asked, confused.

"For watching Joel for me…"

"We got kidnapped. I didn't do a very good job of-"

"He's safe," Martin interrupted. "And you got shot watching him, and for that I'm sorry."

Castle shrugged, embarrassed, and winced at the motion.

"It's okay."

Martin looked like he wanted to say more, but he nodded, instead.

"Just remember… I owe you."

Having a mobster owe him was definitely something he wasn't so sure of, but he didn't argue. Instead, he changed the subject, looking toward the living room.

"So what happens next with you and Joel?"

Martin sighed, and took a sip of his coffee.

"He's going to go live in Seattle with his uncle."

Castle didn't miss the pained expression on the mobster's face, and he felt a pang of sorrow, too.

"That's too bad."

"Yeah." He looked toward the living room, too. "But necessary. No one will know him there, and he can have a regular childhood. Here he'd be in constant danger of someone snatching him to use him against me."

"Did you tell him yet?"

"No." He obviously didn't want to discuss it, though, because he changed the subject. "Is Beckett staying with you?"

"Yes. The hospital said I needed a babysitter – and Alexis isn't old enough. She was kind enough to offer. Or maybe she just wanted to make sure I didn't do anything stupid and get hurt again."

Martin smiled.

"Probably a bit of both. She's a formidable woman, I've noticed. Watch yourself."

Castle took another sip of his coffee.

"Isn't that advice you should take, too? I heard that word on the street is that you're taking over Nemich's operations…"

The mobster tensed, and Castle wondered if he'd gone too far. Martin was obviously wondering the same thing, but eventually he shrugged and smiled again.

"Beckett's homicide. And I'm really glad for that, believe me."

Which made Castle smile, too – although part of his was relief, and Martin put his cup down.

"We need to get going."

The two men headed back into the living room and Joel looked up from the cartoon he'd been watching. Martin held out his hand, and the boy immediately joined him.

"Tell Mr. Castle goodbye, son."

"By Mr. Castle," Joel told him.

Castle, knelt down and Joel came over for another hug.

"You remember what I told you?" he asked the boy.

"What?"

"My friends call me Rick. You can call me Rick."

Joel hugged him.

"Bye, Rick."

"Bye, Buddy."

He let him go and stood up, wincing, and Martin held his hand out to him.

"Thanks again, Castle."

"You can call me Rick, too," the writer told the mobster. "You saved my life, after all…"

The mobster smiled. Castle wasn't supposed to remember that. He wasn't worried, though.

"If you ever need anything, call."

"Thank you."

With that, the mobster and his son both left, and Castle sighed, feeling a bit depressed. It had to be a hard thing to give up his son just to make sure he was going to be safe. He'd be so torn if he had to make the same decision regarding Alexis. He found himself wishing she were there so he could hug her.

He sat down on the couch, knowing that dinner didn't need any help from him, and turned off the TV. Then he reached for his laptop. He needed a distraction.