Meredeth was awoken the next morning by someone shaking her foot. Her instinct was to kick the offender away, but when the grip only tightened, she peeled open a wary eye. Her crankiness subsided somewhat when she saw it was Beckett, standing there in her lady-cop heels and leather jacket.

'Morning. What time is it?'

'Just after eight. He slept through the night, which is good. He needs proper rest right now.' Meredeth stretched her arms skyward, her neck stiff and back sore, owing to the fact she'd slept beside him in a bed meant only for one person. Her face felt like she'd had a melted-butter facial and her eyes were gritty as sandpaper, but she stretched and yawned and saw the steady beep-beep of his heart-rate on the monitor and the normal rise and fall of his chest. She stood up, twisted, let her arms flop to her sides.'

'How are you doing?' Beckett asked in a sympathetic tone, hands stuffed in her pockets.

'I've been better, but I can deal with it. His recovery is what's important right now.'

'Good. Can I talk to you in the hallway for a moment?'

Once they were in the hallway Beckett put her hands on her hips, glared at Meredeth in disbelief and hissed, 'What was all that last night about Esposito's medical file? I'm his supervising officer, I have to sign off on anything going to his personnel file and you're listed as his next of kin and his emergency contact.'

'I know, I'm on his insurance too.'

'So what was that woman doing last night not letting you in?'

'That would be Valencia Morales. Esposito dated her for a few months two years ago, and she hasn't gotten over it. She can't stand me.'

'Is this the first time you've seen her act like this?'

'I've only met her once before, but when I did, it wasn't good. She called me a fat white girl to my face, even laughed at Lili when she said I was his new girlfriend.'

Beckett pursed her lips. 'Okay, thanks. I'm going to talk to the ER supervisor, but if you think of anything, you've got my number.'

'Sure.' Too tired to guess at what Beckett had up her sleeve, Meredeth went back into the room and was at Esposito's side in an instant when she saw his eyelids flutter. Pulling up a chair, she took his good hand in hers and kissed the knuckles. 'Good morning, snooze-a-roo.'

'Mere.'

'Yeah, it's me, Javi.'

He tried to clear his throat. 'Water?' he rasped; she took the cup off the bedside table, held the straw to his lips while he drank. 'What time is it?'

'About eight-fifteen on Wednesday morning. You just slept through the night.'

Esposito tried to focus as the events from the previous day came rushing back. They'd gone into the warehouse to find the son of a bitch calling himself Picasso. When they'd gone in to find him, they were barely through the door when he'd felt an explosion of pain in his left arm that took him off his feet and onto his back, rapping his head hard against the cement flooring. The air was now thick with sulfur and the tang of blood. Ryan had tackled the guy through a window while Castle had leapt over to him and Beckett attended to the girl. His only thought had been Meredeth, and he coudln't be sure but he thought he mumbled to Castle to call her and meet them at the hospital. A little while later, she'd been there, in a white room full of steel and electronic noise. Then the blackness of sleep. He'd awoken to find himself moving, rolling somewhere, and she was there again. His love, his guardian angel, waiting and watching over him.

Now here he was, in a hospital room, Meredeth at his side looking tired and worried, the stains of fresh tears on her cheeks.

'Oh baby,' he murmured, seeing her red-rimmed eyes. 'I'm here. I'm okay.'

'Yeah. The doctor said it didn't hit the bone at all so you're very lucky. He also said you should expect to feel sluggy for a week or two until the anesthetic is completely out of your body.'

'What about Ryan?'

'He's a little banged up but he is going home today. He and Jenny are stopping by before they head out.'

'Is she okay, like with the baby and everything?'

'One hundred percent. Ryan had an empty bed beside him last night so they let her sleep there.' Meredeth paused to get a hold of herself. 'He's feeling really guilty. He thinks he should have stayed with you, not Castle.''

But we wouldn't have got the guy if he didn't go after him.'

'So please remind him of that when he stops in.' Meredeth took a deep breath, unsure if she was about to do more harm than good. 'There's something else you need to know.'

'Oh?'

'We're at Stuyvesant Memorial, Javi, and guess who was working the ER desk when I got here last night?'

Esposito shook his head. 'I don't know.'

'I'll give you a hint. She called me a fat white girl.'

Now there was fire in his eyes as he struggled to sit up straighter, his fingers tightening on hers. 'No.'

'Oh yeah. And I wasn't sure if I should tell you this now or later, but she tried to have me tossed from the ER, saying I wasn't listed in your medical files so I couldn't see you and if necessary, she would call security to throw me out.'

'Fuck me.'

'I don't think that's a good idea right now, for a variety of reasons.'

Esposito let Meredeth's hand go, balled his own into a fist until his knuckles were white across the ridges. 'You are listed on every legal document I have, including my will, as my person. What the fuck was she thinking?'

'Well in her words, you would never be my man, and when you got tired of banging white pork, you'd go back to her.'

'Oh that's just...I am so sorry, Meredeth, really.'

'Hey, it's not your fault, it's not like the paramedics said, "hey you know this shot-guy's looney-tune ex-girlfriend who likes to stir up trouble works at Stuyvesant Memorial, let's go there!"

'Well, when Lili gets here, don't tell her. She's still pissed off about what Val said to you when we went to the church lunch in November.'

Esposito took the cup of water from Meredeth's hand, sipped through the straw. 'I'm glad you told me. Easier to deal with that way if she tries anything.'

'You think she will?'

'Mere, love of my life, this woman is like a hammerhead shark. Once she scents blood in the water, she goes for what she thinks is the kill. This is her issue with me, and you are getting caught in the middle.'

'Well, I'm not planning on going anywhere for the foreseeable future so I will know if she tries to pull any shit.'

'What about work?'

'I called Kristof last night, he's taking care of things for a few days at Elevation. I told you, I'm here for you.'

'Come here.' Esposito patted the space beside him, pleased when she sat down. With his good hand, he brushed his thumb over her cheek as he saw the remnants of a troubled night in her eyes. Taking her hand in his and holding it against his chest, he leaned forward a little to press his lips to hers, once lightly, then in for a good one. Though he knew he couldn't do much about it from a hospital bed, it still gave him a thrill to hear her make that sexy little sighing sound in her throat.

'Even when you're laid up in a hospital bed, you're still trying to get laid.'

The couple broke apart to see Ryan walking into the room. His face was now deep red, like a sunburn, and his left arm was in a cast, but he was on his feet and dressed in jeans and a loose button-down shirt. 'Jenny's down in my room, taking care of the paperwork stuff. She's got a better head for hospital-ese than me. Mere, do you mind if I take a moment here?'

'No, I'll go and grab something to eat from the cafeteria, give Lili a call and see what time she's going to get here.' She put a kiss on Esposito's forehead before she left; when she was gone, Ryan sat himself into the chair that Meredeth had vacated. He rested his cast arm against the plastic bed rail, studied his partner.

'How you doing man?'

'Can't complain,' Esposito joked, rhythmically tapping his fingers on his chest. 'A little punctured but I'll be fine. Can you do me a favour?'

'Anything man, I mean if it hadn't been for me-'

'If it hadn't been for you, we wouldn't have caught the guy and I would still be in here, so cut that shit out right now. You did the right thing and if you'd stayed with me, I'd've kicked your ass out the window myself. Besides, I had Castle there and he's first-aid certified.' Esposito held out his knuckles. 'I'm with you till the wheels fall off.'

Ryan left out a shaky breath, bumped his fist against his partner's. 'Till the wheels fall off.'

'There's one other thing.'

'Sure, bro.'

'Make sure Meredeth doesn't get sick worrying about me. She won't leave the hospital unless you blast her with dynamite, and I'm going to need her whole and healthy when I get out of this place, so just keep an eye on her for me, okay?'

'You got it.'

Esposito settled back against the pillow, studied the patterns in the ceiling tiles of his room. 'She's the one, man.'

'Yeah?'

'Yeah. I don't know what I did to deserve her, but I'm not questioning it at all. She's it.'

Ryan felt his heart go soft for a moment; it wasn't often Esposito let that romantic side of him shine through, even since he'd hooked up with Meredeth. But Ryan also remembered that his partner, his bro, was the first one to congratulate him when Ryan himself had said similar words the previous August about Honey-Milk just two short months after they'd moved in together. 'Dude, much as I love hearing that, because it's great to hear you say it, the person you need to tell this to is that skank-tastic maneater named Val Morales. Did you know she tried to have Meredeth barred from seeing you? What if you'd died? Or she needed to make some important next-of-kin decision?'

'I know,' Esposito said bitterly. Even thinking about confronting Val was leaving a sour taste in his mouth. 'But if she's really that nutty, then she'll find a way to come to me, and if I'm lucky, Meredeth will tear her to shreds.'

'Ah, nothing says true love like girl-on-girl fighting action.'

Esposito would have retorted something witty about Ryan's totally pedestrian fantasies, but kept his mouth shut when he saw Meredeth return with a small canvas bag of goodies she unloaded on the wheelie-table beside his bed.

'There's a whole bunch of stuff here, I didn't know if you were hungry or what,' she said on a rush as she pulled out fruit, pudding cups, crackers, mini-bags of chips, two half-quarts of milk along with travel-sized boxes of cereal, and two deli-wraps in plastic containers. 'Ryan, you're welcome to stay.'

'Thanks anyways, Mere, but I just wanna go home,' he said in a pouting, slightly pitiful voice. 'Take care and call me with an update soon.'

Meredeth shook her head as she unpacked more goodies, making Esposito furrow his brow. 'Did you buy the whole cafeteria?' he asked incredulously.

'If I have to life off the snack-bar, I'm going to make it worth my while.' She took a swig from a small carton of orange juice. 'What can I get for you, babe?'

'More water'd be nice, maybe a cup of coffee or something.'

'I don't know about the coffee, we'll wait on that until the doctor comes in, but water can be done. I'll be right back.'

Esposito watched her marched out of the room, pressed his fingertips to his lips when she'd just lain hers. He leaned back, stared at the ceiling as a joyful grin worked its way across his face. He had the most beautiful, gentle, creative, sexy intelligent woman on the face of the planet who was just as crazy about him as he was her, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt she was The One.

R&R&Enjoy!