Okay. So.

This chapter...I don't really know about it. It's just sort of a placeholder, but it's also crucial, if that makes any sense. Like I said, I'm not sure if I like it or not.

The rest of the day passed slowly for Kate. They'd cracked one teenager, guilty of killing his aunt in a rage, and then the paperwork had consumed them. Even now, at five o'clock in the afternoon, the stack of sheets on her desk was ten centimetres high. She sighed.

She was still kicking herself for not answering the phone. The fear she had of rejection, of hurt, had overwhelmed her descision-making skills. She'd just sat there like a child, afraid to talk to him. It was like high school all over again.

Esposito and Ryan had both left for the day, their paperwork not nearly as time-consuming as hers. Lanie was still at work in the morgue, but it would probably be another hour before they could meet up and go for a drink.

Her cell phone trilled loudly, making her jump out of her seat. The first thought that entered her mind was, Is it him? She smacked herself. Of course that was what she would think about first. She was like a teenager.

But no. The sound emanating from her Blackberry wasn't Castle's ringtone. It was an unknown number calling. Confused, she answered immediately.

"Beckett."

A small, choked sob could be heard on the other end. "Detective Beckett?"

Worry hit the detective like a landslide. She knew that voice. "Alexis, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Another sob. "No. No, I'm not, and neither is dad, oh God, Detective…"

"Lex, call me Kate, okay?" She was already pulling her coat on and heading to the Captain's office. "What happened?"

"I-it's dad," the teen managed to whisper, trying to calm her sobs. "He—he never came home last night, and Gina got worried, and she called his friend, and his friend said—"

"Alexis, I need you to calm down, okay? Take a deep breath and tell me exactly what is going on. Ten words or less."

Kate could hear the girl take a deep, shaky breath. "Dad got shot."

And just like that, her world was thrown off its axis.

Oh my God.

It was all Kate could think. Her brain had stopped functioning the moment Castle's daughter had said those three words. They were her worst nightmare, her biggest fear. In the time he'd been following her, she'd always been worried he'd get himself hurt. But if it had to happen at all, why had it happened when she hadn't been around?

She'd rushed into the Captain's office as fast as she could, surprising him and making him jump out of his seat. Her words had been punctuated with choked sobs, similar to those she'd heard from Alexis, but she'd managed to spit out that she had to leave, that Castle had been hurt, and that she'd be back tomorrow. Her boss had understood completely, and had let her go, telling her to call everyone when she had more news.

So now, as she drove through the hellish rush hour traffic of Manhattan, she was breaking down. She couldn't think properly. All she seemed to be able to do was imagine the scene of him, crumpled up in the New York Presbyterian hospital, unconscious. She knew the pain Alexis must be going through. Gina too.

Finally, she saw the sign for her destination and parked her car on the street. She threw some coins into the parking meter and ran inside.

Skidding to a halt at the elevators, she pressed the up button and waited. Waiting was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment, but it at least gave her time to attempt to process what was going on.

It gave her time to think. What would happen when she got up there? What state would Alexis be in, and would Gina be helping her? What state would Gina herself be in, and would she even want Kate there at all?

The elevator doors slid open, and Kate stepped in. Remembering the directions Alexis had given her the best she could, she pushed the button for Level 6 and prayed the metal contraption would take her to her partner as fast as she wanted it to.

As soon as the doors slid open, she was racing down the hallway, leaving the nurses and doctors around her with surprised and even shocked faces. No way in hell was she wandering the halls looking for Castle's room, so she sped over to the reception desk, grabbing onto its edge as she came to a sudden halt. The nurse sitting there had an expression on her face that could only be described as sheer bewilderment.

"My name is Kate Beckett, I'm here to see Richard Castle. Can you point me in the right direction, please?"

The nurse pointed to the right, her eyes still wide. "Over there."

Kate's eyes snapped over to the door immediately on her right, and sure enough, she could see Alexis' bright red hair through the window. Ushering a quick 'thank you' to the reception nurse, she tried to calm herself as she speed-walked over to the door and pulled it open.

As soon as she saw the scene in the room, she could barely hold everything in anymore. Castle was laying there, his arms hooked up to IVs and a white gauze patch on his chest. His eyes were closed, and the beeping from his heart monitor was almost steady.

Kate found herself with an armful of sobbing teenager as Alexis slammed into her, choking out broken words and sentences. She hugged the girl tightly, her own tears spilling over the edge as the whole thing hit her at once.

Her partner, the man she loved, (as she was finally admitting that to herself), was lying in a hospital. Probably in danger of dying. His daughter had chosen to call her. Suddenly, it was all too much. She glanced over at the plush brown chair next to the wall.

"Alexis, let's sit down, okay?" Feeling the teen nod against her shoulder, she slowly moved to the chair and lowered herself down, pulling the girl along with her. The teen bent her knees and found herself sitting on the detective's lap.

They sat like that for a long while, Alexis still sobbing and Kate brushing away the tears that were slowly running down her face.

Kate more than anyone knew how Alexis must have been feeling. The thoughts that must have flooded her when she got the call to come back to the city had probably consumed her brain. To come so close to losing a parent, someone with such an important presence in your life, was a horrible and terrifying experience to say the least.

For the first time since she'd arrived, the detective looked over at Gina—and a chill went through her. The blonde publisher was staring at her, an unfathomable expression taking over her face. Her Blackberry was frozen in her hands.

Kate wanted to ask. She wanted to have all the facts as to why the hell someone had hurt Castle. She wanted to kill whoever did it. But she couldn't find any words.

Holding Alexis tighter, she looked over at her partner again. He almost looked peaceful, and if Kate didn't know what he'd been through, she would have believed that he was in no form of pain whatsoever.

She felt the teen yawn against her, and she tried to shift her into a more comfortable position. "Alexis, get a bit of sleep, okay? You've had a long day." She knew it was stupid; the girl couldn't sleep with her father in such terrible condition. But she felt the need to suggest it.

Just as she'd expected, Alexis shook her head and sniffled. "Can't."

"Okay. Just rest then. Do you want me to lay you down on the couch?" She tilted her head in the direction of the green sofa in the corner.

"Mm-mm. Stay here."

Kate nodded and slid further down in her chair, trying to give the girl more room for comfort. She stretched her legs out in front of her and tried to relax.

A few minutes later, she could feel Alexis' steady breathing against her and she slowly lifted the girl into the air. She carried her over to the soft, mint-green coloured couch and lay her down, smoothing her hair behind her head.

She could still feel Gina's glare on her back, but she didn't turn around. She didn't know the woman well, but after the surprise appearance she'd made at the precinct Kate just didn't have the strength to face her right now.

She took a shaky breath and looked over at the bed in the middle of the room. She could feel the lump in her throat finally starting to form, and tears stung her eyes. She walked over and eased herself down onto the edge of it and lightly touched his hand.

"Hey! Oh, my God, what the hell? You'll pull the IVs out or something!" Gina was sitting straight up in her seat now, her eyes wide with worry.

Except…it wasn't worry. No, it wasn't worry at all. It was…annoyance.

Kate felt a feeling of white-hot anger bubble up. She had finally realized why Gina had been staring at her. She finally knew why the woman had always seemed to dislike her, even though they'd never met.

She whipped her head around, meeting the publisher's eyes head-on. "Look, Gina. I don't know what the hell you have against me, but—"

"Jesus, get off the bed!" The other woman trotted over to the bed and practically yanked her off, her heels clicking on the floor.

Not wanting to disturb Castle, she stood immediately, her hand leaving his. "Fine. You know what? I have a few phone calls to make anyways. Excuse me."

She turned for the door, barely-leashed anger evident in every step she took. She whipped out her phone and started calling everyone at the precinct.

Esposito and Ryan had been at Jenny's place playing Madden, so she'd talked to them both at once. She could tell they were both in shock, but they had just told her to call them when he was in more stable condition, and she'd agreed. She wasn't in the right state of mind to carry a full, deep conversation about this with anyone.

Lanie obviously thought differently. She immediately said she wanted to get over to the hospital, to comfort her best friend and give that bitch Gina a piece of her mind, but Kate wouldn't hear it. She told her the same as the boys, that she could call with updates when they came.

Now, as she sat in the almost-deserted halls of New York Presbyterian hospital, she didn't know what to do. She knew going back in there, facing Gina and the sight of her fallen partner, might just break her. But Alexis…the girl may be sleeping now, but she would need her later. It had to say something that the girl had called the detective specifically, right?

She sighed. She wasn't going to gain anything by running over the countless what ifs of the situation. It was in the past. They all needed to focus on Castle now.

The tears that had threatened to spill over before Gina had had her outburst finally overwhelmed her, and she put her head in her hands. Why had Castle been stupid enough to get himself hurt? Why had he been in that area of town when it happened? Who the hell had made him go there?

Amidst all her thinking, she turned and saw Alexis standing in the doorway, looking at her. Kate jumped.

They stared at each other for a while, the atmosphere silent and heavy. Alexis spoke first.

"It wasn't your fault."

Kate looked up. "If only I had been there—"

"Kate, stop it. My dad was in that area of town of his own accord. I don't know why he was there, but with you being a cop and all, I'm pretty sure you're going to find out?" She said it like a question, making Kate laugh for the first time all day. A nod followed as the detective wrapped her arm around Alexis' shoulder and pulled her close.

"Yes, I'm a cop. But you know what's even more dangerous than a cop?"

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

Kate sucked in a breath, repositioning herself. "An angry cop. Which is exactly what I am. Meaning, this guy isn't going to get away with it."

Alexis' mouth turned up into a half smile, and she snuggled close to the detective. "Thanks, Kate. You're really great, you know?"

Kate smiled. "So are you, kiddo. So are you."

Like I said, I'm not sure about this...leave a review and tell me what you think of it? :)