Meredeth stretched on her back on Honey-Milk and Ryan's couch, pinching the bridge of her nose with forefinger and thumb. It had been a hellaciously long day at the studios which had gotten progressively worse, culminating with canceled dinner plans with Esposito, frustrating her to the point of snapping at everyone like a spoiled diva. She'd battled her temper into check and prayed that he wouldn't be too pissed off at her when his shift was done. At least being at Ryan's she had something to occupy her time - at six months Honey-Milk was in full baby bloom; having just started her maternity leave she'd invited Meredeth over for the pretext of a girls' night to be followed up on Meredeth's day off with baby furniture assembly. She was so tired, but so thrilled to be having a baby and Ryan was so excited he was practically glowing neon.

As she briefly wondered what her man's reaction would be if she announced she was having a baby, her cell rang, making her aching head want to cleave itself in two. Reaching behind her, she grabbed it off the end table. 'Hey baby, sorry about earlier.'

'Meredeth, it's Richard.'

Meredeth sat upright at the solemn tone in the man's voice. It lacked his usual warm humour and she felt a fist clench around her heart. She started twisting her plume charm around on its chain. 'What's happened? Why are you on Javi's phone?'

'He's was shot.'

The fist tightened. 'Is he-'

'No, not even close. He was hit in the arm, a through-and-through shot. I'm in the ambulance with him, he's on his way to Stuyvesant Memorial and he's asked you to meet him.'

Relief glimmer minimally. 'Can I talk to him?'

'He's been doped up on morphine and been given a mild sedative for transportation.' Castle took a deep breath. 'Mere, Ryan's on his way there as well. He tackled the suspect who shot Esposito through a second-story window so he's banged up from that.'

'We'll be there as soon as we can.'

Meredeth hung up, let out the breath she'd been holding in, her heart hammering in her chest. He was alive, was all she could think. He'd been shot, but he was alive. Rising from the couch, she walked down the short hallway to the master bedroom, shoved open the door to see Honey-Milk sleeping on her side in an over-sized t-shirt, a hand laying protectively over her round belly. It nearly snapped her control, but she forced herself to walk over, sit down on the bed and gently shake her friend's shoulder.

'Jenn.'

'Sleeping. Go away.'

'Sweetie, you gotta wake up.'

Honey-Milk blinked bleary eyes that focused on Meredeth's face. They cleared instantly when she saw Meredeth's face in sober lines. Like Meredeth had when Castle called, she sat upright. 'Kevin?'

'He tackled a suspect through a second story window and he wants you to meet him at the ER. I've got my car in the garage downstairs, it'll be faster than a cab.'

Honey-Milk said nothing, just stood up and tossed on a loose pair of maternity pants before grabbing her purse and keys. She hadn't missed the tightness of Meredeth's voice, knew she wasn't getting the whole story but let it slide as Meredeth manouevered the zippy little Nissan through Friday night traffic.

When they were just a few blocks away, Honey-Milk turned to look at Meredeth's profile, saw the muscles of her jaw clenched tightly. 'Mere, what aren't you telling me?'
'It's nothing.'

'Mere, if he's hurt more than you told me, I will sit on you until your lungs are crushed like berries.'

'It's not Ryan.'

Honey-Milk cursed herself inwardly; something happened to Esposito. 'Is your guy okay?'

'I'll let your man fill you in on the details,' Meredeth replied in a low voice, afraid it wold break if she spoke at normal volume. 'I just want to see mine.'

They parked, fed the meter, and marched straight to the emergency room's check-in desk. When they got there, Meredeth felt her heart sink. She'd met the nurse at the desk before, at a church in Spanish Harlem. 'We're here to see Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito.'

'You are?'

'Jenny Ryan and Meredeth Coleman.'

Valencia Morales turned away from the screen and looked at the two women in front of her. She kept her eyes focused on Meredeth's face while she tapped at the keyboard to call up the information. 'Mrs. Ryan, your husband is in Treatment Room Two. You can go and see him. Ms. Coleman, as you are not listed on the patient's file, you'll have to wait out here.'

'Oh, no she's not,' Honey-Milk warned in a tone that left no room for negotiation. 'This is Esposito's girlfriend and he personally requested to see her.'

'I don't care if God Almighty asked to see her.' Val folded her arms over her chest. 'She isn't listed in his files.'

Meredeth flared her nostrils and literally rolled up her sleeves. 'Val, whatever personal issue you have with me, you need to put it aside. Do you see this?' She gestured to Honey-Milk's belly. 'Mrs. Ryan is growing a little Ryan. Her husband and my boyfriend are in the ER. We're about the last people you want to screw with right now, so this is going to go one of two ways. Either you let us both in to see our men or you'll have to call security. Your move.'

Val curled her lip. 'He'll never be your man, Meredeth. He was mine first and when he's tired of white pork, he'll come back to me.'

'Val, cut the shit. He asked for me and I will get in there, one way or another.'

'Fine, and I'll have your ass thrown out of here in five minutes flat.' Before she could lift the receiver to page the hospital's rent-a-cops, Val saw a tall brunette in leather boots and an NYPD windbreaker appear behind them and flashed her badge.

'Detective Kate Beckett, I'm here to see my officers Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito, and to escort these women to their rooms at my detectives' requests.'
'As I said, Mrs. Ryan may go as she is next of kin, but Miss Coleman-'

'My detective was shot in the line of duty and wants his girlfriend with him, so he's going to get what he wants.'

'Detective, I have procedure to follow.'

'Goodie for you,' Beckett braced her hands on the counter, then straightened when she saw another nurse approach. 'Ma'am, are you the supervisor?'

'Yes, is there a problem?'

'Meredeth Coleman is the domestic partner of my detective, Javier Esposito. He was brought in here to be treated for a gun-shot wound and requested to see Miss Coleman, however, Nurse Morales claims that Miss Coleman shouldn't be allowed to see him despite the fact she's on his medical information as his next of kin and emergency contact.'

The supervising nurse nudge Val out of the way to scan the screen. 'So she is. He's in Trauma Bay Four, and your other detective is in Treatment Room Two.'
'Thank you.' Beckett turned on her heel, adrenaline pumping in her veins as she hot-footed her way down the corridor to Ryan's room with Meredeth and Honey Milk trying to keep up.

'Who the hell was that nasty bitch?' Honey-Milk asked in whispered outrage as Beckett stepped into one of the rooms.

'Esposito's ex-girlfriend who thinks he's dating me to try and win her back. Called me a fat white girl the first time I met her.'

'Oh, I will end her.' Honey-Milk went to turn around but Meredeth caught her arm in time.

'If anyone's going to take her down a peg or two it'll be me, Esposito or the two of us tag-teaming her,' Meredeth started, then shut her mouth as Beckett came out of the room.

'Doctor Austin's in there with him right now. Are you alright to see him?'

'Yeah.'

'Okay.' Beckett shoved open the door and Meredeth felt the first trickle of relief since Castle's phonecall.

He was lying on the hospital gurney, a hospital gown in place of his clothes, skin far paler than was healthy. He was hooked up to an IV unit of various fluids, including one of blood. He turned his head at the sound of people in the room, face waxen and eyes dull with painkillers.

'Mere,' he said, 'that you?'

His tenative question made two tears trickle out. She went to his side, picked up his good hand in hers and squeezed. 'Yeah, baby, it's me.'
'We're taking him up to surgery as soon as we get word from upstairs, so you'll have to make it quick,' Austin told her, looping his stethoscope over the back of his neck and answering the question on her face. 'It was a clean wound but we need to get in there to make sure nothing else was hit or that there aren't fragments of the bullet in the body.'

'I figured it out,' Esposito continued, trying his best to flex his hand in Meredeth's.

'Figured what out?'

'How you know it's me in the room without turning around. It's the smell. The nose knows. You smell like cucumbers and French perfume, and it makes me wanna bite you in fun places.'

'Always the romantic.'

'Gimme one, for good luck.' He tried to pucker up his mouth, but it came off more like a pout; Meredeth didn't give a good goddamn either way. She placed her lips on his, fighting back a shudder as she did so.

A nurse in a surgical gown and cap stuck her head in the door. 'Doctor Austin, Doctor Parks is ready for you.'

'One more,' Esposito told her, as the medical personnel began to move around his bed and was pleased when she gave him another kiss. 'Love you Mere, my beautiful, lovely loving lovable Meredeth.'

'Love you too, Javi.'

Letting his hand go as they left the room was one of the hardest things in her life she'd ever done. She went back across to the room the hallway where the Irish cop was there in a hospital gown with his left arm in a sling and splints around the pinky, ring, and middle fingers on the same arm. His face was a myriad of swollen red abrasions, but his eyes remained open and focused on Meredeth when she came in.

'Esposito?'

'Docs are looking after him,' she replied, pulling up a chair beside his bed. 'Where's Beckett?'

'Went to find Castle, who went to find something to eat and drink for us since it's going to be a long night. They want to keep me here overnight, just to be sure there's no head trauma.'

Meredeth nodded, then blurted out, 'What the fuck happened?'

'We were working on the case where the guy abducts his victims and takes them to the warehouse studio to paint them and then dispose of them, and we got a tip on his warehouse. Tip paid off, as we found him with his latest subject, but when we had him in the crosshairs he took a shot at Esposito, caught him in the arm, then tried to run so I took him out through the window. We already had medics coming to the scene for the vic, otherwise things might have been a lot more dicey.' Ryan plucked at the stingy bedsheet with his good hand. 'I didn't stay with him. Castle did, while I went after the guy.'

'Kev, you did the right thing,' Honey-Milk laid her hands on his knee. 'You caught the guy who shot your partner and killed four women.'

'If something happens to him-'

'Ryan, please.' Now Meredeth's voice was firm. 'Don't think that way. Javi trusts you with his life, as do I, and I'm sure he'll ask if you got the bastard who did it once he's out of surgery.'

The door swung open and Castle, followed by Lanie and Beckett, swung in, the writer carrying two bags of food, his girlfriend carrying one and the medical examiner carrying two trays of coffees and take-away soft drinks. All three showed signs of strain as they approached. Castle set the bag down on the wheelie table, began pulling out containers.

'It's what I love about this city, there's always something open. We've got bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon, smoked turkey, spinach dip, hummus, some chips, cold veggies, fruit salad-'
'And a partridge in a pear tree,' Lanie finished off with a wry smile. She passed off the tray of drinks, gave Meredeth a tight squeeze. 'Austin's a former colleague, he said I can scrub in, see what's up.'

'Sure.'

Lanie nodded, then left the room, leaving the rest of them to stare at Meredeth, who said nothing, just poked at the containers of food like they were dangerous insects. Finally, it was Castle who spoke up.

'Meredeth, why don't we go take a walk, maybe call his sister and his parents?'

'I'm not leaving,' she said in a quiet voice.'

'Meredeth-'

'Maybe I wasn't clear. I'm not going anywhere.' Meredeth narrowed her eyes at him, and Castle felt his resolve weaken in the face of that icy blue stare. 'Nothing is taking precedence over my knowing he's okay.'

With that, she sat down, hauled out her iPhone and began playing Flood-It while everyone else around her nibbled at the food. She didn't care how much of a bitch she was right now, they would understand her need to be alone amongst them. She remembered the first night she met him, her first glimpse of him a seat away at Cecil's when he'd laughed at her irritation with her editor. When she'd assumed he'd been playing with her phone, he'd actually been giving her his number. She'd spent nearly an hour deciding what to wear to a movie when they'd be in darkness for two hours but it had been worth it when he'd 'wow'd' her in the ticket line. They'd had their first kiss that night too, and Meredeth had literally sang the entire way home. She'd known from that first kiss he was something special.

Meredeth had gotten so lost in her own thoughts she jumped a foot out of her skin when Castle put his hand on her shoulder to get her attention. 'What?' she snarled.
He gestured to the door, and Meredeth felt the bottom of her stomach drop out as she saw Lanie standing there with Austin.

'Meredeth, can we talk to you for a minute?'

R&R&Enjoy!