Esposito swore and dodged back out of the doorway, grabbing Ryan's jacket as he did so and pulling his partner with him. The edge of Castle's front door vanished as it was blown into pieces by the bullet.

"What the hell?"

Both of them pulled their guns, taking positions on the left side of the door and peeking in to try and get an idea of who had shot at them and where he/she was so they could shoot back without risking Beckett – who they knew was in there – and Castle, who they assumed was as well. They both ducked as they heard another shot, but this time no bullet came their way and they both recognized the different report as coming from the same weapon Beckett carried.

"Who the hell is that?" Ryan hissed.

"I don't know, Bro," Esposito admitted. "I thought everyone was dead."

"Me, too."

OOOOOOOOOOO

The shot was shockingly loud, and resonated through Castle's entire kitchen and living room area. Rick had ducked even as Beckett had sounded her warning, and when he turned, before the sound had echoed out, he saw that Kate's momentum from the grab for her gun had forced her out of the comparative safety of the counter and left her now hiding behind the less than solid table and chairs at the edge of the kitchen. She had managed to get her gun, though, and he watched her scan the area quickly before showing just enough of herself that she could get off a shot toward where Jimmy had last been.

Castle heard scrabbling on hardwood floor on the other side of the counter, and thought it must be the fence trying to get into a better position. What it really was supposed to do was give Beckett a chance to find better cover, and she tried to do just that, moving back toward the counter, since it was the only decent protection. Another shot rang out, though, and Beckett yelped and dropped to the floor only feet away from Castle, her gun clattering as it slid away from her hand.

"No!"

Rick didn't even hesitate. Terrified that he'd lost her just as they'd finally reached an understanding, he lunged out from behind the counter and grabbed Beckett's arm to pull her back. She rolled over at the touch, and he had just enough time to see blood before two more shots sounded. Castle flattened himself on her, still trying to move her, and now instinctively trying to cover her at the same time. Kate groaned softly under him, and he felt a thrill of relief go through him at the sound.

"Give me the diamond, Rick!" he heard Jimmy yell, desperately, from somewhere near his office. "It doesn't have to end badly. I'll leave and you won't-"

Another shot fired and there was the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. It had ended badly the minute Jimmy the Cane showed himself enough to Ryan, who took the shot that ended the gun battle. Esposito and Ryan rushed into the room, Ryan heading for the fallen body of the fence, while Esposito looked around, his gun still up and searching for anyone else that might be a threat.

"Over here!" Castle yelled, already starting to check Beckett out. There was blood, so he knew she'd been hit, and he was frantic to get her taken care of.

"Castle…" she murmured, trying to push herself upright.

"Stay down," Esposito told her, dropping down on the other side of her and putting his hand on her shoulder to keep her still until he could figure out where the blood was coming from. Her shirt was soaked with the stuff. He looked over at Castle, checking him for blood or injury. He had blood on him, but Esposito didn't see any sign of injury in the quick glance he took. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

Before Esposito could say anything else, Ryan came around the counter, saw what was going on and immediately reached for his phone to call for help. Castle opened the drawer right above them and pulled out a handful of washcloths while Esposito pulled up Beckett's shirt and exposed the cause of the blood.

"Oh, God…" Castle hissed, seeing the gunshot wound on Beckett's side.

"Relax, Castle," Esposito told him, taking the washcloths from him and pressing the whole mess of them against the wound. "It's bleeding badly, but it looks pretty shallow." He'd seen a lot more gunshot wounds than Castle had, so of the two he was undoubtedly the expert.

"Still hurts," Beckett whispered, opening her eyes and looking up at the two of them.

"I know." Esposito was relieved she was awake and talking. "We've got an ambulance coming. Just try and take it easy."

"Yeah…" She reached for Castle's hand and caught it. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Who's the dead guy?" Ryan asked, exchanging a glance with his partner at the somewhat intimate look that had just passed between Beckett and Castle. Not a look that they'd seen before.

"Jimmy the Cane," Castle answered.

"I thought he was dead?"

"No. Well, he is now, but he wasn't before."

"So who was the dead guy with Castle's wallet?" Esposito asked, confused.

"The Dead Pirate Rogers," Beckett answered.

Esposito frowned, wondering if she'd managed to hit her head or something, too, and they just hadn't noticed. Castle smiled, though.

"The Dread Pirate Roberts," he corrected. "Jimmy was going to retire with the money he got from fencing the diamond."

"And the other guy was going to be the new Jimmy the Cane?" Ryan asked, proving that he'd seen the movie at least once, so he understood the reference.

"Yes."

"So where's the diamond?" Esposito asked, looking around. "Was Castle right about it being here?"

Rick looked around, too, and then let go of Beckett's hand. He got up, walked over and picked up her gun – turning on the safety – and then knelt down next to one of the chairs and reached under the table and retrieved the diamond from where it had landed. As he walked back a swarm of firefighters and paramedics entered the loft and Castle found his way to Beckett blocked by them and all of their equipment. Esposito and Ryan were both pushed out of the way, too, and the joined Castle who handed the diamond to Ryan.

"Wow. It's pretty."

Of course, probably most things worth 700 million could be called pretty.

"Where was it?" Esposito asked, taking it from his partner and looking at it.

"In the ice machine."

"Really?" Ryan looked at them. "I read a story somewhere about a mob guy who stole a necklace and then had it stolen or something and it ended up being hidden at his own house right in his ice maker. Weird coincidence, huh?"

Castle grinned, noticing that the paramedics were putting Beckett on a backboard and getting ready to put her on a gurney to transport her. He definitely wanted to go with them if they would let him.

"That is weird," he said, walking over to see what he could do, and leaving Ryan and Esposito with the diamond.

He had Beckett. He didn't need a diamond.