AN: It's really great to hear that people are still just discovering this story & enjoying it! Special mention to White Pawn as always, you truly have mastered flattery – personally, I think it's an indispensible skill. In regards to the medical information in this chapter, Google tells me it's actually relatively accurate. On a slightly more depressing note (in some ways) I'm going away for the weekend, it's my friend's 21st so my updating regularity may decrease. Apologies for the cliff-hanger!

Chapter Thirty-One

"Call an ambulance," she instructed Esposito tersely. His tone flickered to terrified for a second before he was out the door, phone at his ear.

Jim watched Esposito rush from the break room and overheard snippets of his frantic conversation.

"Unconscious…nausea…best cop…hurry," it was enough to pull him from his seat and drive him anxiously into the room, unable to contain his concern. He ignored Gates' presence in the room and slumped to his knees beside the passed out forms of his daughter and her partner.

"Katie," he pleaded, urgency lacing his tone. "Wake up." Her eyes flickered open for a moment before rolling back in her head.

"Uh," she gasped softly. It was the only response Jim could get from her, she was out again after that. Neither her nor Castle showing any signs of responsiveness before the EMT's arrived to whisk them from the building. Jim refusing to leave Beckett's side even as she was manoeuvred into the ambulance.

"You can ride with her," the EMT grunted as he loaded her into the van. Jim simply nodded his response, he wasn't intending on doing anything but that in the first place. This was his precious little girl, his family in its entirety, there was nothing on heaven or earth that could keep him from her side in this moment.

"I'm riding with him," Lanie was adamant. The EMT didn't have the chance to refuse as she followed Castle into the ambulance that was waiting for him. "Love of my girl's life, someone's gotta take care of him," she muttered to herself as she gripped Castle's hand tightly, worry for both Castle and Beckett her only thought. How much could the pair of them go through in the past couple of days and survive anyway? More than this she certainly hoped. Everyone was going to be surviving if she had anything to do with it. Except the bastard that put them into this position. He was a dead man for sure. She was feeling insanely guilty for coming to the conclusion that Beckett merely had the flu. Of course with a psychopath out to get her friends on the loose she should have assumed something like this. The sense of guilt was overwhelming. She wished she had forced Beckett to go the hospital the moment she felt unwell. If this went badly, she was most certainly going to blame herself. She couldn't lose her best friend, she just couldn't. Beckett was irreplaceable. She didn't intend on replacing her in the first place.

The boys and Gates watched as Beckett and Castle were ushered determinedly into the ambulances. They stood on the curb with matching expressions of confusion and fear clouding their expressions. Gates was first to regain some semblance of business as usual.

"What's Alexis Castle's phone number?" she directed to no one in particular. Ryan startled from the semi-daze he'd been in, staring after the ambulances as they drove away.

"Ah, here," he pulled out his phone, found the number and handed it to Gates. She dialled the number and drew it hastily to her ear.

"Miss Castle, it's Captain Gates here," she heard Alexis gulp somewhat nervously in response, but she didn't interrupt. "Your father and Detective Beckett have been taken to the hospital. It looks like they've been poisoned," she was aiming for gentle but it came out sounding harsh and all-too professional.

"Oh God," Alexis cried. She forgot she was still on the phone and immediately screeched through the loft in search of Martha. "Grams! Grams! Dad's hurt…again. We have to go to the hospital – now," she demanded, her tone high-pitched, coursing with fear. Gates realising that the girl had evidently forgotten about her and she hung up the phone. She wasn't one to intrude on the family's private moment of chaos and concern.

X-X-X-X-X-X

The ride to the hospital was terse for both Lanie and Jim. Castle and Beckett were oblivious, caught in a world between dreams and nothingness. As the pair were wheeled into emergency, Lanie found a fired up Alexis in the waiting room, imploring a nurse for information. She was riled, her face red and her eyes tear-filled. The nurse was gesturing her obliviousness, trying to keep concern the dominant feature on her expression, as opposed to the frustration she was obviously feeling.

"Please, you have to know something," Alexis demanded angrily, rocking on her feet, unable to stay still, worry adding adrenalin to her body. The nurse looked like she was about to politely respond when Lanie cut it, Jim on her heels –

"Alexis," the girl turned to her, the nurse forgotten.

"What the hell is happening now?" she asked furiously. Martha was at her shoulder, gently resting a hand on her granddaughters arm as she started shifting towards Lanie.

"Beckett was sick, vomiting, fever. Castle took her to the break room. When Espo went looking for her about twenty minutes later, both her and your Dad were unconscious. Their breathing and heart-rate are normal though. The EMT thinks they might have been poisoned. I think they might have been poisoned," Lanie admitted.

"How?" Alexis pressed.

"I'm not sure. I'd assume they ingested it," Lanie supplied. Her words prompted Jim's memory of the events of the morning.

"Coffee," he drew out brokenly, clearing his throat before continuing. "Castle was disappointed, his usual barrister wasn't there. He was muttering to Katie about it." Alexis frowned. Lanie pulled her phone from her pocket and sent a quick text to Esposito.

"I can see where your daughter gets her detecting skills from," Lanie attempted with a smile that didn't come close to reaching her eyes. Jim's responding one was even weaker, it fell distinctly into the grimace class. They fell into silence. Martha holding Alexis' hand tightly. Jim and Lanie sat side by side, finding little solace in the shared proximity but each happy to have the other nearby all the same.

After some time a white-coated doctor approached the nurses' station and was directed toward the group of Castle and Beckett's loved ones by the same nurse Alexis had flustered.

"Richard Castle and Katherine Beckett's family I presume," he was met with a round of solemn nods. "Toxicology reports showed a concentrated dose of Acetaminophen in their systems. Do you know what that is?"

"It's pretty common," Lanie interjected. "Found in a range of over the counter drugs like flu tablets and pain medication."

"Right," the doctor nodded, giving Lanie an appraising glance. The venom that flashed through her eyes assured him that his only option was focussing on his patients, not flirting with their loved ones. He shifted his gaze back to the group as a whole, continuing. "Both Richard and Katherine had ingested unusually large amounts. Acetaminophen is not lethal in small amounts, however overdose is not unheard of. It can result in liver failure or death if not treated within eight hours. They were lucky to be brought in when they were." At the mention of overdose and death Alexis had stilled, the only movement she made were the tears streaming down her face.

"Oh darling," Martha sighed, pulling the girl to her chest. "They came in quick enough though, so they'll be fine?" her usually confident tone wavered somewhat as she softly demanded answers from the doctor.

"It looks like they should both make a full recovery," he smiled half-heartedly, he had no personal investment in these patients, he was at the end of a substantial shift and exhausted, he didn't have to energy to muster an enthusiastic grin as he imparted news of his patients' conditions.

"Good," Martha breathed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the doctor shrugged.

"Can we go see them?" Alexis requested. The doctor shook his head as he responded.

"Not yet. They're having their stomachs pumped as we speak. I'll send someone out to get you when they're ready for visitors," he said as gently as he could manage, before turning and heading back into the wing of the hospital he'd come from. Alexis watched him retreat before slumping further into her grandmother who caressed her back soothingly.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Castle woke up slowly, his mind was blurry and his vision mirrored it, hazy around the edges. He slowly dragged himself from the fuzziness, taking in his surroundings carefully. He was in similar hospital room as earlier, the only difference, another bed in the room, with Beckett's still form laying in it. The only sign of life the beeping monitors and the steady rise and fall of her chest. That and that alone was the only thing that prevented Castle from plunging across the room to her side.

"Beckett," he croaked, desperately, his voice barely a whisper.

"Oh she's just fine," an indistinct face swaying into his foggy line of vision. "I'd be more worried about yourself," the stranger smirked. Castle tried to sit up, level himself with the unfamiliar man before him. The movement caused him to hiss, his already bruised hands once again tightly bound, this time to the metal frame of the hospital bed. An increasing sense of doom blossomed in the pit of his stomach.

"Dunnings?" he managed, whether it was the fear or the recent poisoning restricting his throat he wasn't sure. The man chuckled menacingly.

"Very good," he sneered. Castle blinked fervently a few times, attempting to clear his vision. Eventually the haze in his eyes shifted. Dunnings was standing over him, his posture suggesting that he clearly felt confident that whatever plan he was currently orchestrating would be more successful than the last one. He was dressed in scrubs; Castle noted the hospital ID pinned to the front of them. Apparently this cover ran fairly deep. That was never a good sign. "This is no fun," he added after moment of Castle silently studying him. "Let's wake her up," he suggested, with a sly wink. He drew a syringe from his pocket and moved deliberately towards Beckett.

"No!" Castle gasped, struggling ardently against his bonds and failing to achieve more than writhing around futilely. "Don't touch her," he forced out through clenched teeth.

"Relax," Dunnings drawled with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Worst case scenario I kill her and she misses out on all the fun," he shrugged. Castle continued to struggle against his bonds, tears prickling bitingly in his eyes, hot and desperate. Dunnings plunged the needle into Beckett's thigh as Castle uselessly watched on. She burst to life with a muted scream, confusion etching over her expression as she tried to jump to a seated position, evidently bound to the bed as Castle was.

"Beckett, Beckett," Castle exclaimed, trying to ascertain if she was okay. Her eyes flickered madly around the room, unable to focus on anything for longer than a second. Her breathing was ragged and she looked terrified. Castle was beyond concerned, he was frantic. "What the hell was that?" he snarled, turning to glare at Dunnings, his expression livid.

"Just your ordinary, everyday shot of adrenaline," he smiled wickedly. "It shouldn't do too much permanent damage," he added, obviously not all that concerned about Beckett's long term medical condition. He didn't care if she died, as long as he got to torture her first. This was the perfect circumstance for that. He waited a moment or two for the adrenaline to wear off somewhat and for Beckett to get her bearings.

"Castle," she choked out weakly after a moment.

"Beckett. Kate, it's okay," Castle's words were reassuring but his tone was more than a little uncertain. Dunnings chuckled at the exchange.

"It was incredible tedious waiting for the two of you to wake up. Let's not waste time with chit-chat," he grinned.