A/N: Sorry that it's taken so long for me to post this! I know it's short, but I felt bad about leaving it so long without an update, so I just wanted to post a bit of something before I get round to working on a longer chapter for next time.

A huge thanks goes to anyone who's reviewed this story or added it to their favourites/alerts. I've been pretty overwhelmed by how positive the response to this story has been, so thank you all so much!

Chapter Five – Beckett Beckoned

Nine thirty. That was always the time he'd arrive, give or take, with his two cups of coffee and smile that would brighten up her day. That was why when Kate Beckett looked up at the clock to see that it was creeping closer and closer to ten, she couldn't help but feel a stab of disappointment and worry that Castle still wasn't here. Where was he? He was supposed to be back today, and he hadn't called to tell her otherwise, so she couldn't think what might be keeping him.

Feeling somewhat unsettled, Kate glanced across at the phone that was lying on her desk beside the computer. The screen was blank, and she thought about checking it to see if she had any missed calls, but she'd done that twenty minutes ago and she knew it hadn't rung since then. Maybe she was just being too impatient? Castle would probably show up anytime now. Perhaps he'd just been tired after the book tour and decided to come in later today.

That was a perfectly reasonable explanation, but for some reason she still felt uneasy. He hadn't called her to ask about what case she was working on, or just to see how she was, which was unlike him. In fact, the only contact she'd had was a text from him yesterday morning saying he was looking forward to being back tomorrow. But yet he still wasn't here.

Ignoring the file she'd previously been going through, Kate continued to stare at the phone, wondering if she should pick it up and give him a call. Would that seem silly, though? If it turned out he was on his way here and she was getting worked up over nothing. It wasn't like he needed someone checking up on where he was all the time. But he had said he'd be here…

Kate's indecision was interrupted by the sound of someone addressing her as he approached her desk. "Yo Beckett," Esposito said as he reached her, "Any luck identifying our mystery guy yet?"

Suddenly jolted back to thinking about the case at hand, Kate shook her head. "Not yet," she said, flicking through the file of witness statements and CCTV freeze frames she had in front of her. "But I think I want to get a couple of these witnesses in for questioning again. Some of these statements don't match up – one of them says they saw the suspect leave the building at 10.30, but the other one claims they saw a guy fitting the same description hijack a car three blocks away just ten minutes later. I'd like to ask Mr Clayton and Mrs Bronson a few more questions about what happened."

Esposito nodded. "I'll get on that," he said and seemed about to turn away, but then it occurred to him to ask her something else. "No Castle yet?" he asked, seeming a little surprised that his friend still hadn't arrived at the precinct.

Beckett sighed. "No, I guess he must have been tired out after the book tour," she replied, sounding rather downbeat.

"Yeah, that must be it," Esposito conceded disappointedly, but then both of them heard the sound of a much optimistic voice calling to them from across the room.

"Beckett, Espo," Ryan called out, beckoning for them to join him where he was stood by a computer, "You might wanna take a look at this. I think I've got an ID on our mystery guy."

Pleased to have some good news, Beckett got up from her chair and she and Espo began to make their way towards Ryan, but just as they did so the phone lying on Beckett's desk began to buzz. She turned her attention back to it suddenly, hopeful that it might be Castle, but her face fell again when she saw the only thing displayed on the screen was 'private number'.

Picking it up, Beckett hit the button to take the call and answered with, "Kate Beckett," unsure as to who it was on the other end.

Seeing that something had distracted Beckett and Espo, Ryan left his position by the computer and began to make his way towards the pair of them, listening to one half of the conversation that was unfolding.

"Gina?" Beckett said, sounding surprised at first, and then a look of worry crossed her face at the reply. "What happened? Is he alright?...No, I understand…And they don't know what's wrong?...Alright, I'll be right there." She hung up the phone, a look of distress etched onto her face.

Both Ryan and Esposito looked at her in concern, sensing that something was deeply wrong. "What is it?" Ryan asked.

"It's Castle," Beckett replied, still looking shocked. "He's in hospital."

At that, both Ryan and Esposito acquired expressions just as shocked and worried as Beckett's own. "Why? What happened?" Esposito asked urgently.

"I, uh, I'm not sure exactly," Beckett replied, "Gina says he collapsed at a book signing."

"Is he going to be alright?" Ryan asked.

Beckett gave a distracted shake of her head. "I don't know. They don't know what's wrong," she said in answer. "He's at Princeton Plainsboro; I should go see him." She walked round to pick up her coat off of the back of the chair and began to put it on, but then paused and bit her lip worriedly. "If Gates finds out I've abandoned a case to see Castle…" she began, but Esposito interrupted.

"We'll cover for you," he said. "Ryan and I can handle this case. You just make sure our buddy's alright."

"Yeah," Ryan reiterated, "You go check on him. We'll tell Gates you're following up a lead or something."

Giving them both a look of deep gratitude, Beckett fastened her coat and slipped the phone into her pocket. "Alright, thanks guys," she said, "But keep working on this. Check out those witnesses again and see if you can find out who that guy was. I'll call you as soon as I know anything," she told them, and they both nodded as Beckett turned to head for the exit and went to find out what trouble her partner was in.