Originally, I was going to end it in this chapter as I ran out of significant memories, but because I've enjoyed writing this story so much, I've added another chapter by splitting the shooting into two parts that Kate will remember separately which means THIS is actually the penultimate chapter.

Also, I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday. I wrote out the chapter and deleted it to change it completely so that I could make it into two. I think it's better this way. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters.

Chapter - The Shooting

Kate was still on desk duty at the twelth for another week, which meant she was almost back to kicking ass. They'd closed the case just half an hour ago and now she was finishing up the paperwork. Finding the murderer had taken only a matter of hours as it was a simple case of Jack shot Jill over Bill, and Jack wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, and was unable to hold a pokerface. It was 5PM and most people were finishing their shifts and going home for the weekend. Lucky for Kate and her team, they had a free weekend, courtesy of the new Captain, which meant they had two free days to do as they pleased.

Castle was sat on his chair by the desk fiddling with his iPhone as usual. She kept sneaking glances at him, finding his concentration adorable. Of course, Castle had pretty good peripheral vision, meaning that he could see Kate staring at him and was managing not to smile about it. Leant over her desk filling in forms, she blinked as her surroundings flashed bright white. Castle was sat next to her holding his phone in her direction having just taken her photo.

"What was that for?"

"Nothing. Just needed a new contact picture for you and I couldn't resist taking one."

She rolled her eyes at him. She knew full well that he didn't need a new picture of her. He'd gone home one night and accidentally left his phone behind. Unknown to her, she called him and found his cell with a picture of her laughing with Alexis glaring up from the screen. Normally she would've said something about it, but it wasn't that bad a photo of her.

After another few minutes, Ryan and Esposito stood up and started to put their jackets on. Ryan was on the phone to Jenny as Esposito walked over to them with a grim look on his face.

"Hey, guy. You know what tomorrow is, right?"

Kate looked at her watch which had the date on it and guilt immediately washed over her. She'd completely forgotten about it. She took a deep breath and put her hands over her face.

"It's Roy's birthday. He'd be 55."

There was more silence as Ryan joined them after ending his phone call. "Jenny can't make it. It's just us four and Lanie."

"Where are we going?"

Esposito frowned. "I thought Lanie would've told you. We were gonna go visit his grave together. We haven't been back since the second funeral, seeing as the first one... you know. But we weren't sure if you wanted to go or not considering what happened last time you were there. I'm sure the Captain would understand."

Roy had died for her without a thought. She needed to go and say thank you, even if he couldn't actually hear them.

"No, no. I'll be there. What time and where?"

It was twelve noon and she and Castle were in Remy's to get lunch, waiting for the others to join them. After eating, they were going to go to the florist across the street and then to the cemetary.

"Sure you're okay doing this? I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you." Castle spoke quietly and took a drink from his coffee.

"I have to face it sometime and I want to say goodbye to Roy properly. I didn't get the chance last time."

"Just don't feel that you have to prove yourself to us. We won't think any less of you."

She gave him a faint smile and looked back down to the table. She knew this was going to be hard, but she was starting to think that it wasn't a good idea, but she couldn't back down now.

The door swung open noisily as Ryan, Esposito and Lanie came to sit down with them. After a few minutes of idle chatter, they all received their food. Inevitably, they got to speaking about the late Captain.

"Do you remember the time where he made the killer cry in the interrogation? I'll always remember that about him. I was inspired." Ryan and Kate smile and nodded at Esposito's recollection, but Lanie and Castle had no idea what they were talking about. Seeing their confusion, he ellaborated. "A man was found stabbed in his home and in the end, all leads pointed to the brother, but it still wasn't quite enough, so we needed a confession. He was a pretty tough guy, but within five minutes of watching Montgomery from behind the glass, we were shocked. They guy had tears streaming down his face and he couldn't speak from sobbing. We never did find out his motive, but he confessed and begged to be locked up. The man was amazing in there."

Ryan chuckled to himself. He spoke to Lanie and Castle as they hadn't been there. "When I first joined Homicide, Javier and Kate were already working there and had been for a few months so I didn't really know anybody. Roy could tell I was nervous so he pulled me aside and he said to me,' Now, Son. I know it's your first day catching killers, but you have nothing to worry about. You see those two out there? Two of the best cops I have on this floor and I want you to join them. The man is Javier Esposito. He may look tough, but he's a pretty nice guy and he'll have your back. You'll get along just fine, and Kate Beckett, she'll look out for you too, but my only advice is don't embarass her, she's got a pretty mean right hook and knows how to use a gun.'"

Kate continued. "Of course he forgot that advice when he came out, shook our hands and called Esposito 'Boss'. He got all the paperwork from the cases that had come in in the last week."

Ryan went red at the memory and everyone else went silent while they finished their meals after laughing for a little while. Castle paid and they all crossed the street to the flower shop. The men stayed outside but the girls went in.

"I may be an ME, but I know something about flowers, and these are perfect." She held up a bunch of Zinnia's for Kate to look at.

"They look lovely. Perfect."

"They mean 'In Memory of an absent friend.' Appropriate don't you think?"

After purchasing the Zinnia's, they slowly made their way along the streets. Lanie and Kate at front and the boys following them closely. As they got to the cemetary, their joyful conversation stopped and faces went grim.

Kate dropped behind to walk with Castle as the others made their way slowly to his grave. It was the same place were Kate had been shot and she had started to shake, but she wouldn't let it show.

Roy Montgomery

1956-2011

Beloved Husband, Treasured Friend

Looking at the inscription on the gravestone, Kate remembered exactly how close she'd come to having her name written on stone as well.

"Roy Montgomery taught me, what it meant to be a cop."

She looked around and saw the folded flag being handed to Roy's wife. She was crying and her daughters were leaning on her shoulders, tears staining their faces repeatedly. Castle was stood next to her, looking into the crowd of people who had gathered for the same reason as herself. Ryan and Esposito were also in their uniforms, looking smart, standing tall and proud. Lanie was stood next to Esposito, her hand grasping his tightly, a tear threating to escape the corner of her eye. She also saw Alexis looking gloomy, stood next to Martha who was wearing sunglasses. Stood next to her was her father, looking towards her with both empathy and pride.

"He taught me that we are bound by our choices. We are more than our mistakes. Captain Montgomery once said to me that for us, there is no victory. There are only battles. And in the end, the best you can hope for, is to find a place to make your stand. And if you're very lucky, you find someone willing to stand with you."

After those words, Beckett could only think of one person. The man stood next to her had stood by her through everything. Through her mothers case, through Royce's case, when a serial killer had tried to kill 'Nikki Heat'. He kept her warm when they were trapped and freezing to death in a freezer, and he held her hand when they thought they were about to fall victim to a dirty bomb, before saving her life, along with every other person in New York.

"Our Captain would want us to carry on the fight, and even if there is..."

Then she heard it. A gun shot.

Then she felt it. The searing pain.

"KATE!" Castle dived towards her, tackling her to the floor, crushing her under his weight. She could hear the screams before she hit the ground. Her hat went flying from her head and to the grass by her side. She couldn't move. She didn't want to move. It hurt to much, and all she could see was Castle, staring down as her, the fear evident in his eyes.

"Ok..." He put his hand under her head to support her and make her look at him, maintaining eye contact. "Shhh..."

The memory stopped abruptly as Castle placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a concerned look. It took everything she had to keep a straight face and stop the tears from spilling out, but the facade only lasted a few moments. She let the tears fall and sobbed into Castle's jacket as he pulled her to him and wrapped her in a deep embrace.

The others looked on but said nothing. They stood in silence for a good ten to fifteen minutes before they left, with the exeption of Castle and Kate who were now stood infront of the gravestone. The tears had stopped for the time being but she had no doubt they would come again, which meant she had to get her words out quickly. After looking at Castle, he stepped back to give her some space.

"I'm sorry, Roy. It's all my fault. If only I hadn't gone after Lockwood. If only I had listened to Rick." Her eyes filled up with tears as she carried on. "Even though I feel guilty that you're gone, I want to say thank you. Thank you for helping me in my job, thank you for helping me as a second father, and thank you for keeping me safe even though it got you here. I always felt willing to die for my mother's killer to be found, but it's different when it's someone who didn't deserve it." She burst into tears again and her partner wasn't far away. He consoled her again until she was ready to stand. As they turned to walk away, Castle nodded towards the headstone out of respect and thanks.

Instead of walking to the exit, Kate steered him a different way. He knew where they were going and he wasn't going to object. They stopped suddenly and Kate smiled at him and turned to the stone.

"Hey, Mom."

She sat on the grass infront of the headstone and crossed her legs before patting the ground next to her, asking Castle to sit with her. How could he refuse?

"It's been a while since I've been here and I'm sorry, but I was a little busy. I got shot, actually, just a few metres away. As you can see, I'm not alone. This is Richard Castle, my partner, and the mystery writer." She laughed. "If I close my eyes, I can just imagine your face at meeting him. You had all his books and were waiting for the next one to be released."

Castle had a mixture of emotions inside him. Shock, that he was Johanna Beckett's favorite author, sheer joy, that Kate was introducing him to her mother, even if she wasn't able to say hello, and most of all, admiration for the woman sat infront of him.

She was always so professional and closed-up and now, sat infront of him, she was carefree and just... happy.

"I told you about him a while ago. About how annoying he is, and how I wish he'd just go away." She could picture the look of devastation on his face, and refused to sneak a peek at him. "But that was before, and I'm so glad he stayed. He's the one who's getting us closer to finding the bastard who did this to you. He's my best friend, believe it or not and I wish you could have met him. You'd have got on great, I know it."

She wiped the tears from her cheek. She didn't cry much when she came to see her mom anymore, but every so often she would just let go if there was no one around, and now, even though Castle was sat next to her, she knew that he wouldn't judge her. He never had. She was looking to the ground and absentmindedly tracing circles on his knee. He shocked her when he decided to talk as well.

"Mrs Beckett, I've heard a lot about you and I wish I could have met you too. If you're anything like your daughter, I know you would have been a most amazing woman. I also know that as a parent, you want the best for your child and want nothing more than for them to protected, be safe. I can't promise you that Kate won't get shot again or even be killed, but I can promise that I'll try to stop it, that I'll always be by her side, because I'm not going anywhere. Ever."

By the end of Castle's little speech, Kate fingers were no longer on his knee, but intertwined with his, and her head was against her shoulders. Eventually they both got up and made their way back to her apartment. They were stood outside her door unsure of what to say.

"Thank you for what you said today. It really meant a lot to me." Kate was sincere as she looked him in the eyes.

"What you said to me meant a lot to me too." He smiled back.

"Do you want to come up for a drink or a movie?" Please say yes.

"I'd love to, but I have to get home. I promised me and Alexis we'd watch a movie. We haven't spent all that much time together lately."

"I'm sorry I took up all your time."

"Hey, it's fine. It was time well spent. She understood and she liked having you over. But it's time for father and daughter time."

They looked at each other for a few moments before Castle put his hand on her cheek and stroked the skin there with his thumb.

"You remembered the shooting, didn't you?" He said it so quietly she almost didn't hear. She simply nodded, not wanting to speak.

"I don't remember it all. It's still blurry. I can't remember much after hitting the ground."

He sighed and he looked away as she looked up and dropped his hand.

"Until tomorrow, Detective."

He walked away and went home to his apartment leaving her stood outside her door. It was obvious that something was up with him. He'd looked pretty upset after she told him her memory was blurry and she had reason to believe he was keeping something from her. Of course he'd be sad at having to remember her being shot, but this was something else entirely.

That night, lied in bed, she dreamed of the shooting but more clearly. Yet the end of it was still to distorted to make any sense of. She only got images of Castle looking down at her, tears in his eyes and that alone broke her heart.

She decided she'd try to find out.

Maybe Lanie knew something...