Thank you for all the kind reviews after my first chapter! I'll try too upload a chapter a day if I can. Here's the latest.

I'd also like to point out that Josh will only be appearing in later chapters and of course, he won't be well received by the 'gang'. As I'm sure you can tell, I don't like him much. I'm also English, so if my terminology or spelling is different, that's why.

I don't own Castle or the characters. I can only dream. Vividly.

Chapter 2 - The Hangar

Her father had entered a few minutes after the doctor left. She presumed he'd told them of her memory loss. She'd rather not explain about not being able to remember the past year. What would they think of her? Jim Beckett rushed over to her side as quickly as he could, taking her hand within his.

"God. I was so scared Katie. I thought I'd lost you. If I lost you I don't think I could manage." He was starting to sob whilst kissing the back of her hand slowly. She felt tear fall down her own face before turning her attention to the hand on her other shoulder. Ryan, with Esposito close behind him. They were wearing their uniforms, which was weird. What had made them wear their uniforms?

"Hey Dad. Shh. It's OK. I'm here, alive." Jim sat down, looking years older than the last time she could remember them seeing each other. "Ryan, Esposito. It's good to see you. What are you wearing?"

No one said a word. The boys looked at each other and ten down to the floor simultaneously. Her brows furrowed at their response. Something had gone down, and she'd forgotten it.

"Guys, you bet-"

"Shh. Honey. We'll fill you in later, OK? Right now, we're here to see you and make sure you're getting better." Lanie had tears in her eyes as she pushed passed Ryan to stroke Kate's hair from her face. "I'm so glad we didn't lose you, girl. I've never been so scared in my life. Need my best friend to eat ice cream with and talk about boys." She turned around to face Esposito who gave her a small wink. Yep. She'd definitely missed something.

"I may have forgotten the last year, but I still have my detecting skills and I saw that wink Javi. Are you two...?" She pointed between them with a questioning look.

"Geez, Beckett. Didn't take you long to figure it out last time around, either. And we thought you all wouldn't notice. But no one can outwit the great Katherine Beckett, huh?" Esposito put his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

Kate was shocked to say the least, but she was genuinely happy for her partner and best friend. To think she couldn't remember the girl talks about them upset her. "Lanie. You. Me. Talk. Later."

"You got it girl, but right now, you got more visitors."

At that very moment, she saw a flash of orange enter the door and was crushed by a young body.

"Oh my God, Detective. I'm so glad you're alive. When you were hit, I was so scared. You fell to the ground so fast and I was scared when you didn't get back up. Oh, no, am I hurting you? I'm so sorry. I'll go before I-"

"Alexis, you're rambling again, Darling. Calm down and give the woman some room to breath and I'm sure she doesn't want you to leave." Martha was stood behind her comforting the young girl. Alexis had tear stains on her face and she looked older than the last time they met.

"Wow, Lex. You look older than I remember you. You look like a young woman instead of a girl. Wait. Does this mean that you're going to college this year?"

"Yeah. I'm going to Stanford with Ashley. Oh, you won't remember him. He's my boyfriend. You've met before, so I've heard. He likes you, you know. I like you too. I'm so glad you're OK."

"Alexis, give her some space. She needs it after what she's been through this week." Kate's eyes flicked to the door to see the owner of the familiar voice. His hair was sticking up every which way and his dark shirt was stained with what she only guessed was her blood. He had dark circles under his eyes, and she could only guess he'd barely slept since she'd been shot. He was staring at her. Correction. He was staring right into her. She could see the way his adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed tears back. Everyone could sense the tension rise as the staring contest continued between the female detective and the writer.

"Come on then, Alexis, dear. We should give the two some time to talk and the doctor only have us 5 minutes. They've got a lot to catch up on." Alexis reluctantly stood, as did everyone else. Her father gave her another kiss on the hand, and one on the temple before leaving her, telling her he'd be back to see her in the morning. Ryan followed Esposito who followed Lanie, leaving her alone in the room with Castle, who was stood at the foot of her bed.

"I though I'd lost you."

She just stared at him. She'd seen him upset before but this was... He looked pretty devastated.

"I thought you'd died in my arms." A tear was threatening to fall from the corner of his eye as he made his way to the side of the bed, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve.

"What happened, Castle. Why am I here?"

"God, Kate. How do I tell you? You were shot at the funeral when you were giving the eulogy. I saw the gun and I tried to protect you but... You got shot anyway. I'm so sorry, Kate." He wasn't making any sense. Who's funeral was she at? Everyone was here at the hospital, apart from Montgomery. Her heart fell in her chest as she realized what had happened. She'd give a eulogy for very few people, and he was one of them.

"Whos' funeral, Castle? Who died?"

"Montgomery. He died to protect you. He made his stand."

"Captain?"

"Over here"

The hanger was a big place and she was surrounded by darkness. The only light was coming from the moon. She could hear the captain in the shadows and slowly walked towards him, taking her phone from her pocket as it signaled a new message.

3rd cop -

It's Montgomery!

It was from Esposito. She stopped her approach as soon as she read it, only to look up and see the subject of the warning stood there with his gun in his hand. The safety off.

Without uttering a word, she returned her phone to her pocket and brushed her fingers over her Glock.

"Put the gun away, Roy." She started to walk again before she heard him speak.

"Kate, I'm not going to jail for this. I can't put my family through that."

"Why?" Why would he do such a thing? Why would he lie to them after everything that happened with them? Why would he hurt her mother? Why would he hurt her?

"I was a rookie when it happened, Kate. Raglan and McAllister were heroes to me. I believed in what we were doing. We were just gonna snatch Pulgatti that night. Bob Armen wasn't even supposed to be there. Armen, reached for my gun. That's when I heard the shot, I didn't even know it was my gun that went off until Armen went down. Then McAllister pulled me into the van. I remember him saying 'It's OK, kid. It is not your fault. Happens in this town every day.' McAllister and Raglan tried to drown it. But not me. I put it all into the job, Kate. I became the best cop I could be. And then when you walked into the 12th, I- I felt the hand of God. I knew he was giving me another chance, and I thought if I could protect you they way I should've protected her..."

She only had one question floating arounf her mind.

"Did you kill my mother?"

"No, that was years later, but she died because of what we did that night."

"Then who killed her?" She had to know. She was a cop because she wanted the answer to that question so damn bad.

"I don't know how, but somehome he figured out what we had done. He could've turned us all in and instead he demanded the ransom money. He took that money to become what he is, and God forgive me, but that may be my greatest sin."

"Give me a name." She stepped closer. "You owe me that, Roy."

"No. Knowing you, Kate, I give you a name, you'll run straight at him. I might as well shoot you where you stand."

"But that's why you brought me here, isn't it? To kill me?"

"I brought you here to lure them."

"You baited them?" Her face was one of disbelief. He caused her mothers death unknowlingly, and now he was trying to make amends by preventing hers.

"And now they're coming." She turned to where he was looking and saw a black SUV approaching them slowly. "I need you to leave. They're coming to kill you, and I'm not gonna let that happen."

"I'm not going anywhere, sir." She was desperate now. She was desperate for him to leave them. She didn't want him to die for her. That was what he was here for after all.

"Yes, you are. Castle, get her out of here." He was here?

"Captain..." He walked towards her protesting with her.

"No arguing. That's why I called you here. Get her out of here, NOW." He was getting worked up now, but who could blame him?

"Captain, please. Just listen to me. You don't have to do this." Her voice was breaking a little, her control slipping from her.

"Kate..." Castle put his hand on her shoulder as she turned round to look at him before turning back, knocking his hand from her.

"No. Please, no. Sir. I forgive you. I forgive you."

He closed his eyes which where harboring unshed tears. "This is my spot, Kate. This is where I stand." He was speaking in a whisper now, watching her eyes fill up before him.

"No!"

"Kate..."

"Castle..."

"No. No. Sir, please. Listen to me. You don't have to do this." The car was approaching rapidly now. It was only a matter of seconds before they arrived. She was trying to keep a stern voice, but her tears were betraying her.

"CASTLE! Get her out of here, NOW!" His whisper turned to shouting.

"You don't have to...

"Kate. Kate..." Castle wrapped his arms around her from behind and lifted her from where she stood. He turned and started to walk from Montgomery to escape with her.

"No! God, Castle. Let go! No! Please, NO!" She was crying full on as they barged through the door at the rear of the hanger, her voice echoing through the building.

"Rick. Please..." He put her down to stand on her own to feet as they listened to the screech of the car tyres on the opposite side on the hangar.

He pushed her against the car, pressing his hand to her mouth to prevent her making noise to alert them to her presence. Her hand reached up to his cheek, stroking his skin softly as her body slid down the car. After a few moments, they heard a series of gunshots echo behind them. Then after another few minutes, there was another 2 gunshots. They heard one more gunshot before Beckett pushed her body from the car, moving Castle out of the way. She ran to Montgomery's side and let the tears flow.

"I... I remember. Lockwood. My mother's case. Most of it I think. I..."

He watched as her eyes filled and before he knew it, he was sat on the edge of her bed with her head resting on his chest while her tears stained his shirt, joining her blood.

"Only me, you and the boys know what he did. We agreed we'd keep it that way. He was a good man, Beckett. If it wasn't for him, you'd have been shot sooner, and you wouldn't have survived. God. I'd miss you so much." The hug was as much for him as it was for her. They needed each other right then.

"There's something else you should know, Kate. After I came back from the Hamptons, we had a case and we met a bounty hunter who was chasing our suspect. It was Mike Royce, your TO. He was arrested for something else pertaining to the case and sent to prison. When he got out he was shot dead. I'm so sorry."

She cried a little harder, but he figured it was best to get it over and done with all at once. It wouldn't be easy. He'd seen her break the news of a loved one's death to families of murder victims nurmerous times, and he'd done it once or twice before with her by his side, but this was something else. He could only hope that she would run out of tears, fall asleep and have a few hours of peace before she had to approach the subject again. He'd say nothing until she remembered, if she remembered. And even though she was breaking in his arms, he couldn't help but want to create memories of their own together, starting with him being there for her as much as possible.

The doctor had said she couldn't the remember the last year of her life, which by his reckoning meant that she could think she was still with Demming and that he'd gone to the Hamptons with Gina. She'd been mad at him when he returned after the summer, and though he still hadn't figured out why exactly, he wasn't about to let her push him away, not after everything they'd been through together.

Speaking of boyfriends, he'd gotten Josh's number from one of his colleagues so that he could tell him to come home from Japan or whatever foreign country he was in. He'd picked up the phone and told Josh exactly what happened, when, but not why. The doctor had told him that he'd get a flight home as soon as possible and would ring him back when he'd arranged it. That had been two hours before he had called again, saying that he was going to wait until the programme had finished. He couldn't get home without paying a fortune and the people needed him. He'd be back in just over a week. Obviously his girl wasn't as important to him. Hell, whether Kate was Castle's or not, he'd move heaven and earth to get her. He'd jump infront of a bullet. Again. But next time he'd make sure he had more success.

He and Lanie had arranged to talk at his loft in a few days about what to do when Josh turned up. He thought he was angry. Lanie almost had an outburst right there in the hospital when Castle told her of his conversation. "She may not realise it, Castle, but what she needs right now is you, not him," she'd told him. He hugged her, she cried and then she told him to shower. Obviously he didn't and right now he wasn't exactly fresh.

He was scared she'd take a turn for the worse; that she wouldn't be able to go back to work; that she wouldn't get her memory back. He was scared that she would get her memory back. He didn't want her to have to live through images of radiation poisoning, freezing to death and getting blown up, or getting shot for that matter. He was afraid that she hadn't heard those little three words before she'd passed out. But most of all, he was petrified that she had, and she didn't feel the same, that she'd push him away. He'd fought his way into her life 3 times and he would fight to make sure he'd stay there.

He came out of this thoughts for long enough to realised that she was now resting against him after crying herself to sleep. He longed to take away her pain, physical and emotional and hold it all for her, bear it so she didn't have to. He put his arms around her and rolled her carefully on to her side to prevent tearing any stitches. He pulled the cover up to her chin and put his hand in her hair, stroking her hair softly before leaning down, kissing her forehead. He'd get a nurse to make sure she was medicated to prevent any more pain.

Leaving the room, everyone turned to look at him.

"How is she, bro?" Lanie was crushed to Esposito's chest, her head turned waiting for an answer. He went over to the chair, sitting slowly and shook his head.

"She asked me what happened and I had to tell her she was shot at a funeral, and who's funeral she was at. Probably wasn't the best timing for it, but I told her about Royce too, that way she can start dealing soon enough. Get it over with as soon as possible, but she's going to need us all over the next few weeks, whether she wants us or not."

After about half an hour talking about Kate, Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, Alexis and Martha all decided to head home to eat and shower and come back to see her in the morning. Jim stayed behind, sitting by Castle.

"Thank you, Rick."

"What could you possibly have to thank me for? It's my fault that she's lying in there. I reopened Joanna's case and I got her shot. She almost died because of me."

"No. It's the gunner's fault. He pulled the trigger, not you. You reopened the case, yes, but it would have happened eventually. She looked at that file for years and I know that one day something would click inside her head and she'd go after this guy. But she'd go after him alone without someone to keep her grounded, without you. She could've died, but you saved her as well. You saved her from herself. Almost 10 years she was a shell of herself, my little Katie buried deep inside somewhere and you found her and set her free and it's the most wonderful feeling to know that your daughter is alive, well and happy, even if her life altered at 19. She would have been dead long before now without you."

Castle knew Jim was right on a certain level.

"But one second quicker and it would be me lying there and she'd be fine."

"You tried to take a bullet for my daughter. As a father, I know how you would feel about a guy who tried to sacrifice themselves to save Alexis and that's how I feel about you. As far as I'm concerned, welcome to the family."

"Family?"

Jim stood up now and turned to look at the seated writer.

"It's only a matter of time, son. She'll see the light soon enough. She loves you too."

Castle only hoped so, but couldn't understand why Jim said what he just did.

"Please, Rick. I've been in love and I can spot a fellow man in love from a mile away. And trust me, you're literally oozing feelings for my daughter. Now, I want you to go home and shower, you stink. Eat some food, get some sleep. I'm gonna stay here tonight and I'll call you if anything happens of if she asks for you."

Castle had no choice but to stand up and nod. His hands shoved in his pockets, he walked towards the elevator, turning for a second after feeling a hand squeeze his shoulder. He smiled briefly and continued his mission for a sleepless night.