Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited or followed this story. I read each and everyone, but trying to get to the 50k word count before the airing is crazy, especially since I will be away Monday through Friday of next week. I'll be writing, but we'll see if I can post. Not sure about the internet! I'm cutting it close, as it need 50k words my the season premier. This will also be my most reviewed story in 31 more reviews, whenever it happens I'm going to be psyched! Let me know if you guys are still enjoying this or I should just wrap it up soon! In a rush to post all mistakes are mine...my betas could use the break. My entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon!

The two women had been arguing for the last thirty minutes. They were alone in a nearby hospital conference room, but their muffled voices could be heard in the hall. The conversation was heated.

"You are to close to this, your objectivity is compromised!" Shaw's voice was strained as she tried to keep her voice down.

"I've been compromised from the beginning! You knew that! There's no way you are going to force me to leave here! I'm not going to the safe house, my place is here with Castle and you know that!" Beckett growled.

"Kate, you are under my protection, and I can't protect you if you stay here. Castle will have Federal Marshals, the NYPD and private security firm he has hired keeping him safe. We need to get everyone else somewhere safe and that includes you."

"I don't need protection and I don't give a damn about who is protecting him. They aren't me! This psycho has already gotten too close Already. I can't let that happen again." Kate limped the length of the conference room as she spoke. Her leg burned with pain, but she'd be damned if she showed Shaw any weakness.

"Kate we know what he looks like. Everyone has been updated. He won't be able to get near Castle." Shaw leaned over the conference table with both hands. Before her was the sketch the sketch artist had made from LT and her description. "Fine, but there is no debate on this Beckett. We are adding a member or two of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team to each shift as a precaution.

Beckett knows a concession when she hears it. She had won this battle.

Shaw knew when she was beaten from the get go. There was no legal way she could banish private citizen Kate from the hospital and Kate knew it. Shaw sighed and plopped herself down into one of the leather chairs. Going into this conversation she didn't think she had a chance in hell of getting Beckett to leave - the woman would take a bullet for Castle, hell, she had already taken two.

"What are you carrying?" Shaw asked. She wanted to make sure she was adequately armed. "We will also give you a burner phone you can use to contact me and you friends and family in an emergency. The hospital is really upset about all the armed people. They've cleared the end of one floor, it's a wing that was scheduled to be cleared for remodeling and rehab next month anyway. They have recruited, at government expense, a team of hospitalists, doctors, crash cart and an ICU nurse for Castle and Hunt. They have put an extra trauma surgeon on duty in the ER as well as two more on call. Castle and Hunt will be moved later today. It will be easier to protect them if there aren't any other patients in the way."

"I have my service weapon, a Glock 19 with two extra magazines and my Glock 26 back up in an ankle holster.

"Doesn't that ankle holster hurt?

"I was shot in my right leg, the holster is on my left. You know ankle holsters are on the opposite side."

"Your twenty six can use the magazines from your nineteen. That's plenty. What rating vest are you wearing?"

"Condor Level III-A with carbon Nano tubes front, rear, and both sides."

"I didn't know NYPD issued those. They are great."

"They don't. Castle bought it for me."

"I should have known."

"Jordan, I'll update Castle on everything you've told me. Thank you, I won't make you regret it."

"Believe me I already do." Shaw said over her shoulder as she lead them out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Volkov was no fool. Walker was a gun for hire, his allegiance was only to himself. He knew what had to be done, but he didn't understand the importance of it, for him it was just the money. So, Volkov had taken the first flight out of Moscow heading to New York. With any luck he'd be there to witness the mayhem and confirm the destruction of Hunt's family. He wanted to make sure the man who had caused him so much pain, lost everything before he lost his own life. Then he would secretly meet with Walker and make sure any connection to him was taken care of. No one would miss the assassin and then he could return to Russia and continue on with his life.

He had called his connections in New York. Everything he'd need would be ready and waiting for him. He had a nice hotel in mid-town and the needed guns and ammunition ready and waiting. He really only needed one gun, but he was trained to have a back-up, and he felt uneasy without it. A driver would be waiting for him at the airport. If he was lucky, he would be back on a plane less than a 72 hours from now.

Walker had no idea he was in New York and that's exactly how he wanted it. Their next call was scheduled for right after everything was taken care of. He already had someone watching Walker. Walker would never know what hit him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five different cars left the hospital that evening. Each car headed for a different municipal airport. The occupants oblivious to their final destination. Espo, Lanie, Ryan, Jenny and Sarah Grace left in a dark blue crossover. Alexis, Martha and Jim Beckett in a Toyota sedan and Gates, her husband and Shaw drove away in a brown Wagoneer. The two other cars were decoys with agents that looked and dressed similarly to some of the people in each of the other cars. Planes were chartered and fake flight plans had been filed.

They would be in the air for about an hour before they would land at separate municipal airports outside of Syracuse, New York. Syracuse had quite a few advantages. The population made it easier for them to hide. People in cities moved more often. The agency had a never before procured a Federal Marshal Service Safe House big enough to house all the people they needed to protect this time. Each group would arrive at different times safe house just outside Syracuse. Alexis, Martha and Jim arrived first and were already anxious to call the hospital and make sure Castle and Beckett were safe. They were told they would be given time to do so once everyone had arrived, but they had to do it on an internet phone setup that would be routed all over the world before it connected to the hospital, for now. They had already surrendered their cell phones as a condition precedent to the Marshal's service providing protection. None of them were allowed access to the internet for any reason. Books, each other, and television were their sources of amusement.

I'm honored and shocked at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers, betas and fight scene coordinator because without you guys my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!