Disclaimer – I do not own Castle but would like to have a strongly worded conversation with Andrew Marlow.

A/N – Remember that Kate is on strong pain killers. That is why she is more emotional than usual.

12th precinct, NY – 09:04

Both Kevin and Javier were watching the small screen on Kevin's iPhone. They were watching the press conference that Rick was speaking at in front of his building. They watched as their friend spoke with deadpan seriousness. It was a different side to the writer that they rarely saw.

The next thing they were hearing was a popping sound, which any cop knows what that is. They then they saw Rick get tackled to the ground. One of his plain clothes guards dove for the writer, took him down as soon as they heard the sniper shot being fired, neither had moved since. The two detectives tore their gazes from the tiny screen and turned and looked at one another, faces filled with pure disbelief.

"What the hell just happened?" Kevin asked out loud.

Turning their eyes back to the screen, the camera was now on the audience, they couldn't see the writer. The two detectives were frozen in spot until Javier's cell phone began ringing, managing to pull him from his shock. He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the caller ID, his eyes widening with puzzlement.

"Castle?" the Hispanic detective said, answering his phone.

Rick's Loft - 09:05– Lounge Area

Kate was finding it hard to breathe; air just didn't seem to be going into her lungs. Did that just really happen? Did she just really see the guy that she loved get shot on television? She hadn't even realized that she was crying until Kate felt a wetness sliding down her cheek and moments later someone pulling her into a hug.

Her head was spinning and she couldn't find air. Martha had ran down the stairs after the shots had been fired, the actress had been watching her son on her iPhone in her bed. She had subscribed to her sons twitter alert, just like Alexis. Paula had sent out a tweet that Rick was speaking at nine about Kate to all of his followers.

As the older women held her 'someday soon' daughter in her arms, her gaze went to Donavan, searching for an answer. The older former marine waited for one of his men to report back, he held his breath. Once he heard Rick's voice in his ear, he could breathe again but when he heard who was shot he closed his eyes. The report wasn't good.

Finally re-opening them and finding Martha's eyes on him. "Rick didn't get hit, it was Diaz," Donavan informed them.

09:10

The door opened and Rick came running in. He spotted Kate in his mother's arms. She was crying and holding her stomach like she was in pain, the writer ran over towards her.

Kate spotted him over Martha's shoulders instantly, pulling back from the older woman; the brunette began slowly walking towards her partner. She was in a little physical pain from the tight hug from Martha but most of all; her heart was in pain because she thought she had lost him.

Rick ran over to her, stopping just in front of her. He assured the detective by cupping her face in his hands and locking his blue orbs on her. "Kate I didn't get shot," Rick whispered.

Kate didn't believe him so she pulled off his leather jacket, letting it fall to the ground and began checking him for a bullet wound, not finding anything she began lifting his sweater to find some sort of armor she hadn't seen before.

"It is a dragon skin bullet proof vest," Rick answered her puzzled look, the next thing he knew. Kate flew into his arms, crushing him in a hug. "I though ... I lost you ... I saw ..." Kate sobbed into Rick's arms.

Rick was holding her tight, rubbing her back and looking over at her shoulder towards Donavan who was on the phone.

"I know sweetheart, I know," the author comforted, 'sweetheart' slipping from his lips but not bothering the detective - she just continued to cry.

Martha was watching her son and Kate. It brought tears to her eyes, the realization of losing someone that holds your heart. The older woman looked away when her phone started to ring, answering it and hearing Alexis cry into the phone.

"Hey Kiddo ... no he is fine ... have him bring you back ... back entrance ... okay see you soon," Martha finished the call then looked towards her son who was consoling his soul mate, but his eyes had shifted to her. A curious look on his face, knowing something was up.

She smiled at him letting him know. "Alexis is coming home with her guard."

Rick responded by nodding.

Crime Scene – 09:26

Lanie had arrived in the medical examiner's van.

She walked over towards the front entrance of the novelist's building, looking around at the pests that were eating this up. She shook her head in disgust. How could people be so heartless? There was a dead person, somebody gone from this earth and all they could do was snap their cameras. She wanted to walk over there hit them.

The body was covered with a tarp and CSU was on scene processing the scene. Local LEOs (law enforcement officers) were keeping the pest problem at bay. There were a few hulk looking guys wearing black jackets and ear wigs, guarding the body.

Lanie showed them her M.E's ID pass. One of the men read the name on it and then spoke out loud. "Dr Parish is here ... okay ... over." He then nodded at her and let her examine the body.

Lanie squatted down beside the body, her glove-clad hands trembling as she pulled back the tarp. Lying on his back was an unknown white built man. "Oh thank god," the M.E muttered. She had be informed by her boyfriend that it wasn't Rick but she still had to be sure.

Rick's loft – 09:28 – Open Lounge Area

The brunette detective was now sitting on the couch with Martha while Rick and Donavan were talking to her partners. Kate couldn't believe that her hands were still shaking. She could have lost him, before she even admits to him how she felt.

Martha was sitting right beside Kate, her hand clasping the brunette's knowing that she was still in shock. Who could blame her? The actress felt like getting a stiff drink herself but at the moment even though she would never admitted it or ask. Kate needed her.

"He is fine, Kiddo," Martha spoke to Kate in a low tone.

Kate nodded knowing that he was but still, it could have been him. He could have been the one laying down there on the pavement. She now understood how Rick felt at the cemetery, except he went through worse - she actually did get shot.

"I know ... but it was so close," the brunette admitted, tears stinging her eyes once again.

Martha pulled Kate closer into a side hug, letting the girl rest her head on her shoulder.

Open Area off the Lounge

Kevin and Javier were standing opposite from Rick.

The detectives were still trying to get over what they had seen on the television, surprised at how calm the writer was.

It was the Irish Detective that spoke. "How'd he miss ya man?" Kevin began.

Javier gave him a 'dude' look, that's when the blue eyed detective continued. "I mean we're glad he did but ..."

"He wasn't aiming for me…" Rick cut in.

"…He was trying to send a message" Donavan finished, walking up behind Rick and standing beside him.

Both detectives looked at one another, and then turned back to the two other men who were standing beside each other. Same stance, mirroring expressions, the slight resemblances in the two were practically evident.

"And you are?" the Hispanic detective was the first to ask, curiously.

Donavan looked both detectives up and down. Rick had talked about these two with the highest respect, claiming them as his partner and brothers.

"Retired former Marine Scout Sniper, now runs private security businesses around the world but based in Australia and long time friend, Donavan Storm." Rick proudly announced, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Donavan watched as both Detectives dropped their jaws as silence fell over the room until Lieutenant Wyatt Brooks entered the loft and walked towards them. The former marine spotted the evidence container in the lieutenant's hand, his eyes narrowing on the bullet resting inside of it. As soon as Wyatt stopped in front of his boss, before he could blink. Donavan snatched the container from his hand.

"7.62mm, NATO," rolled off the former snipers tongue like he knew it from memory.

Detective Ryan had his arms folded, answering. "That's the same kind of bullet that shot Beckett."

All eyes fell on the bullet inside the container.

Javier enquired. "Should we be concerned that you know the make of that bullet?

Donavan turned his glare on the younger man, staring into his soul. His voice coming out more gravel than usual. "Oh I would be if I were you, it belongs to a Parker Hale M82, sniper rifle."

Rick's eyes widened. "That's ..." too stunned to finish his train of thought.

The loft door swung open and in ran little Castle in her school uniform, before the older Castle could react, his daughter was in his arms crushing him in a Castle Hug and crying on his shoulder. It broke Rick's heart to see his daughter in this state, hearing muffled sounds coming from his sweater. He pulled her back and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Alexis's crystal blues were red and puffy from all the crying. "I was watching ... you on my phone ... when I heard a shot... and you went down," the young redhead answered in between the sobs.

Rick looked at his daughter whole heartedly, placing his hands on her shoulders. He never wanted her to go through that, to see that. "I am okay, Pumpkin. I would never leave my girls, you mean too much to me. Now until this whole mess is sorted, I am gonna need you to stay in the loft."

The teen could see the fear in her father's eyes, which concerned her to a great deal. Her father rarely ever showed fear. He always waved it off with a joke. The only other time she had see this look in his eyes was several weeks ago when he sent her to the Hamptons with her grandmother. Wanting answers but knowing this wasn't the time, she just nodded.

That's when Alexis spotted the brunette detective behind her dad, standing near the couch. She looked sick. The teen instantly left her father's side and walked over towards Kate, worried.

She looked so fragile, like she would break any minute now.

Before the teen knew it, she was standing in front of the older woman and in an instant second, Alexis pulled her into a hug, being gentle because of her wound.

Kate tried remaining strong but didn't last long before she broke down again, crying on the teen's shoulder. Those damn pain pills were making her emotional, were letting her emotions come out. Usually she could keep them all locked up, but her boundaries were down.

09:36

"So what do we know about the shooter?" a new female voice asked as she walked towards the group of eyes turned from Kate and onto the female that made her presence. It was the new captain.

The former marine looked the younger African American woman up and down once before stiffening, recognition flashed before his eyes.

"All you need to know is that the rifle has a range of 800 metres, you can start your search there but I can guarantee you'll come up clean," Donavan informed her, handing the bullet to the Irish Detective before storming off.

Rick watched as his old friend headed in the direction of his office.

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "What's his deal?" she asked, looking at Rick.

"Trust issues," the writer answered before heading to his office after the older man.

The Captain had no idea what just happened, so she turned towards her two detectives, hands on hips. "Details now!" she demanded, staring them down.

The two detective partners looked at one another. Kevin held up the sniper bullet before filling the captain in on what they knew.

Rick's Office

Rick knew something was wrong with his old boss, as he entered the office. He closed the door behind himself. Donavan was pacing in front of the desk, this got the younger man concerned.

"You know the shooter?" Rick stated, the question being rhetorical.

Donavan stopped pacing and turned to face his prodigy, giving him a look that said it all, no words needed.

Rick felt numb; his role model had been keeping something important from him. What did he know?

A long silence fell over the room for a few minutes before the novelist started connecting the dots. "The sniper used the same rifle as you use to shoot Kate, and then shot Diaz right beside me. Just so he could get a message to you!"

Letting out a long sigh, Donavan placed his hand on Rick's shoulder and began explaining, pensive. "That's what he was hoping. He knows that you and I go back and you being Kate's partner. This goes further than her mum's case Kid, those kidnappings back in the day of those mob families. Those three cops might have affiliated those kidnappings but they weren't pulling the strings, somebody way higher was."

Rick's eyes widened so big that it looked like they were going to pop out of his head. His thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on his doors.

"Open up Rick!" Kate's booming voice came through.

The writer walked over towards the door and opened it. Standing in front of him was the beautiful brunette. He looked behind her to find that the only people left in the loft were his daughter, mother and Kate.

Rick turned his eyes back to his partner and saw the apprehension in her eyes. She was trying so hard to remain strong but he could see different.

"What's going on Rick?" she asked in a soft tone.

Rick was blocking the doorway. "Kate, how about you go rest..."

"No! Don't tell me to go rest, god dammit!" Kate began, her voice rising and anger flaring in her eyes mixed with sadness. "We're partners, Rick. That should mean you trust me enough to tell me what the hell is going on!" Tears were stinging her eyes but she blinked them away.

Rick looked at Kate stunned. "Of course I trust you, Kate. You're my partner and best friend. You've been through hell and I just don't want to worry you."

"Well not knowing what is going on, that is worrying me, Rick!" Kate answered back full of anger.

The two partners were now glaring at one another. Donavan was standing back just watching the scene play out in front of him. He could clearly see that the savvy detective was the writer's perfect match.

"She's right, Kid. She has a right to know, this involves her as much as it does you and me," Donavan finally answered.

Rick knew he was fighting a losing battle when he got tagged teamed by both Kate and Donavan. Letting out a deep sigh, the writer turned towards his mentor.

He let Kate in and shut the door behind her.

"Why is the sniper trying to send a message to you, Storm?" Rick demanded crossing his arms across his chest.

Kate watched the interaction between the two men. There was more between these two than her partner was letting on, they had the same connection in communication that herself and the writer had. As the Brunette observed her partner, she couldn't help but notice how great he looked in that deep red sweater. How when he crossed his arms like that, it outlined his perfectly toned upper body and all she could think about was running her hand over it.

Kate was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the Australian talking.

"Because I know things about him. Back when we were stationed in Baghdad, we were on the same unit. He was like a big brother to me, it was a bad time over there and too many innocent people were being killed and my unit was finding it hard to look the other way, so he decided to do something about it."

Rick and Kate turned to one another, giving each other a look before turning back to the older man.

"Who?" the author asked, knowing all well Donavan had a name.

Donavan locked his eyes on Rick before answering. "He was like the big brother to the entire unit before going into politics and becoming NYC Chief of Deputy Police," the silver hair man finally confessed.

A stunned shock had fallen over the office. It was only expected after a bomb that big had been dropped.

Rick pulled Kate into a side hug because she looked like she was going to pass out at any moment. The detective responded by lacing her hand around his waist, holding onto him for support.

"The guy who runs the biggest police department in America is behind all of this? Why didn't you stop him!" Rick demanded needing answers.

His mentor responded with a single nod before taking another step closer and began to explain. "Over there he was eliminating the evil in the world but when I heard about the kidnappings back here, I paid him a visit. I worked out that he was trying to do the same here, trying to get rid of the evil. He had roped some cops into doing his dirty work for him, so he couldn't be connected back to him and I didn't see the harm since it was killers that he was targeting. But that all changed when that FBI agent got killed, I told him that I was turning him in and that he had gone too far." Donavan answered, honestly.

The Detective looked at the former marine in earnest. "What stopped you?" she asked.

Donavan turned his gaze onto the brunette who was pleading for answers with her eyes. Dropping his head, he answered defeated. "Because he told me that if I did that, he would come after you, kid." He confessed, lifting his gaze and settling it on Rick.

Rick looked at his mentor, puzzled. "Why me?" the writer racked his brain for an answer. How would he even know about him?

"Because he knew that you were like a son to me. I always talked about you when I was with my unit, so he knew that we were close and he said if I opened my mouth then he would go after you and your mother. So I kept my mouth shut, I had to protect you." He proclaimed, bowing his head again in shame.

Kate looked at the older blue eyed man completely stunned, a few minutes of complete silence passed before she finally found words.

"My mother was killed because she was trying to solve that case. She is dead because you didn't say anything, because you kept your mouth shut." She shouted at the older man, her voice filled with fury before she burst back into tears.

Rick pulled her into his arms and let her cry it out on his shoulders, his gaze not leaving his mentor.

Donavan looked towards the young woman who was in pain. "I didn't know about your mother or those others being killed because it was written off as random gang violence and I was deployed at the time. I didn't know he was connected to her death until I received a call right before you were shot, by a Roy Montgomery."

"The captain called you?" Rick asked shocked. He never really discussed Kate's mother's case with his mentor because he didn't think it was his place but what if he did, could all of this have been different?

Donavan nodded before going into detail. "Yeah ... I was back home at headquarters when I got the call. It was midday in Oz and late at night the previous day over here. He informed me that my friend Rick is going to need my help to bring down Dallas Grant, to bring all of this to an end. He said that he was going to take out his hired help and that I needed to do the rest," the former marine explained.

Kate and Rick were both in shock.

"Why did you let him go in there by himself? You had to know that they would kill him?" Kate shouted, powering her anger towards the Australian, not letting go of her partner.

Donavan could see that she was angry. She had every right to be, from what Rick had informed him on when he had arrived after the shooting. The detective and the Captain had been close. He was like a second father to her. Donavan had to straighten out this whole mess and pass the blame game.

So he took another step closer to her and looked her straight in the eyes, explaining. "I told him to wait until I get here, that I was bringing my team of highly trained men and we can all come out of this alive. He told me that by the time I get here, it would be twenty four hours too late and Kate would be dead, that this was his stand to right the wrongs that he let in and that I should get here ASAP. That I was needed to finish this, how he knew about me I don't know ... but he did!"

As silence engulfed the room again, not a word was said. It was like everything that had just been said was absorbing into all of them.

Several minutes passed before the older man spoke again. "There is one more thing you both should know," Donavan began.

Both partners turned their gazes towards the Australian. Four eyes watching him with uncertainty, like they were almost afraid of what else he was going to say.

"It's about your new Captain. She's Dallas's niece," He finished.