I can't believe I'm up to chapter 25 and over 50k words. I didn't think I could write that many words for one story. I'm sorry that I haven't thanked everyone personally, but believe me when I say every review good or bad is read, and re-read. Even a negative review has something I can learn from, and positives well, I love each and every one. This is now my most reviewed story ever, would love it to reach 1k reviews but that's probably not going to happen in the amount of chapters that are left. It's ok though, I'm very happy how this has turned out and thank you all for the kind words and encouragements. You have all inspired me along the way. Thank you! I hope you continue to read now that this is AU. We aren't done yet! My Castle Hiatus Ficathon 2014 Entry!
Shaw crashed blindly through the door. The scene was her worst possible nightmare. Gates had warned her and now Beckett's body was sprawled naked in the bathroom doorway, a golf ball sized exit wound in her back. Soap and water that had clung to her body now mixed with the blood spreading across the floor. The wound bubbled as she struggled to breathe, but she was still alive! Shaw grabbed gloves from the box against the wall and shoved her hands into them. She grabbed two more, dropped down on her knees and pulled Beckett up and held her against her chest, Kate's head bounced back against Shaw's shoulder. She pressed the gloves firmly over the gaping bullet wound, hoping it would seal her chest and keep the lung from collapsing. She added more pressure to lessen the blood flow.
Castle thrashed about frantically in an attempt to get to her. "Don't die Kate. Don't leave me. Please hold on. Not now, not like this, Beckett!" He struggled against the wires, that would never have contained him. His body too weak to propel him out of the bed, dropped back onto the bed. Pain seared through his chest as he tried to catch his breath.
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Espo and Ryan had been assigned the lobby when the bomb exploded. They had instinctively hoofed it up the stairs toward Castle and Beckett's room. When they reached the floor they expected to hear activity, but there was nothing. Castle's frantic screams cut through the silence. They burst out of the stairwell and tripped over the body of the dead nurse. Not far away laid the body of the dead Marshal. The rest of the floor looked empty, they were either hiding or dead.
Guns raised they approached Castle and Beckett's room. They burst into the room. Their eyes focused on Castle who struggled to remove the monitor system wires and IV tubes that tethered him to the bed. It was the sight of Beckett, naked, unconscious and with another bullet hole in her chest that knocked the breath out of both of them. The look on Shaw's face startled them into motion.
"Get help, now! She's alive!"
Ryan immediately rushed to Castle's side and tried to calm him. He was of no use to Beckett if he injured himself further. "Castle!" Ryan shouted as he grabbed Castle's face and made him look at him. "We are getting her help. You need to stay in the bed, while we get her the help she needs. She's going to need you, so sit still."
"Don't let her die. She did this to save me. That asshole shot her twice, Ryan! She was in the shower when he burst through the door. I need to help her! She can't die!"
Ryan turned and glanced at the dead body sprawled on the floor behind him. He placed two fingers on Walker's carotid artery, and didn't find a pulse. He turned back, placed both hand on Castle's chest and pushed him firmly back into the bed.
"He won't be killing anyone else, Castle. Shaw has Beckett. If we move her it might make things worse. You've got to calm down."
Espo had glanced at Beckett, turned and barked "Officer Down" and their location into his radio. He picked up the phone in the room and called for help. Then he glanced down at her again. This woman who he loved like a sister, more family than those who shared his blood, didn't deserve this. Anger ran hot through his veins and tears stung in his eyes. He finally had to close his eyes to fight off the emotions. It was not the place or the time.
While Ryan calmed Castle, Espo rummaged through Walker's pockets. He found his wallet, inside there was a magnetic room key to a motel in Washington Heights, a Russian ATM card to the bank they had traced the money to, and a subway pass. In the other pocket was a cell phone and a matchbook to a bar. "I'm going to step outside and call Gates, have her send some uniforms down to the motel. Maybe have Tory run the subway pass and phone records."
Minutes later emergency crews crashed through the door. Beckett was on the stretcher and on her way to the ER almost immediately. Shaw stood up and called for more protection. Esposito followed the gurney with Beckett on it closely, he wasn't letting her out of his sight.
Shaw peeled off the bloody gloves, dropped them, grabbed her radio mic and said, "I don't care what's going on. I need eight Agents. Four to be stationed with Detective Beckett and four here with Mr. Castle. Two in the rooms and two outside the rooms. Just do it!" She slammed the phone into her pocket.
She turned to Ryan, "You stay with Castle for now. I have to go talk to your Captain, and their parents. I want one of you with each of them at all times. Let Esposito know he is not to leave her side as soon as she is out of the OR. As soon as Beckett gets out of surgery let me know." Ryan nodded and she walked out of the room.
Castle had his head in his hands, "What have I done? This is all my fault."
"Hey! Stop that. None of this is your fault. She's a fighter, Castle. She put her life on the line for you because you are more important to her than life itself. Now you do your part, hang in there and don't give up. She loves you. She is going to pull through. Don't you dare give up on her."
Castle shook his head and looked down. "She is the strongest woman I know, but how many times can I put her in the crosshairs?"
"Man, you don't know what she was like before you came along. She was alive but not living. She lived for this job and her mom's case. That's it Castle; it was no life."
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Esposito paced in the hallway just outside the operating room, his phone to his ear. When Gates picked up he said, "Captain, Beckett has been shot she's in emergency surgery..."
"I'm sorry Sir, but you can't stand there," a nurse said as she approached Espo.
"Hold on Sir," Espo growled into the phone. He turned toward the nurse. His badge and gun became visible. "I'm guarding the person in that operating room at the moment, and I'm not moving." The nurse nodded and quickly walked away.
Espo turned back to the phone and continued, "Walker somehow made it to their floor. Killed at least one nurse and one Marshal. Beckett was in the shower and came out fighting but he got at least one shot in, it hit her in the chest before she killed him. I don't know how many, but I could see the one in her chest. Ryan is guarding Castle, two Marshall's are on their way to his location. I'm outside Beckett's operating room and two Marshall's will be meeting me here. We are not leaving their sides."
"That's fine Esposito. Now where in the hell is Agent Shaw? I need to talk to her!"
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Volkov had been waiting for news from Walker. He currently sat at a table in a bar when the channel they had on cut into a special report from Stony Brook University Trauma Center. He dropped his fork and listened to the newscast.
This is Robert McCain reporting from Stony Brook University Trauma Center here in Suffolk County, NY. At this moment we have confirmed reports of an explosion and gunshots from inside the main hospital building. The hospital is currently in lockdown with only emergency personnel and law enforcement allowed to go in and out. We will be reporting news as we receive it."
Volkov pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and dropped more than enough money to pay his bill and walked out the door. It seemed like Walker had finally come through. Now it was time to do clean up. He took out his cell and dialed.
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"What the hell were you thinking, Shaw? I told you to let Beckett know what was going on!" Gates tried to keep her composure as she paced back and forth in her office. "Now we have Beckett shot again, fighting for her life, and you better hope she makes it."
"You were right. I made a bad call, but Beckett looked like hell and Walker shouldn't gotten anywhere near them. We had agents on their floor, in the basement, roof, everyplace. We've found dead agents and the number keeps growing. I have asked for an investigation as to why there was only one Marshal on their floor when five had been assigned."
"Had she known what was going on, she wouldn't be where she is now! She is one of our own and I hold you responsible for what happened." Gates had stopped, slammed both hands onto her desk, leaned forward toward Shaw And said, "You let this happen and I hold you responsible. So fix this!"
Gates strode angrily out of her office, the door forcibly closing behind her. Shaw stood motionless for a minute, then turned on her heels, opened the door and walked out of the office to the elevator.
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With no outside contact other than the TV they had followed the news when it broke. Martha had immediately turned off the TV. She wanted to make sure their information came from a reliable source and not a rating hungry news hound. A half hour ago an agent had briefed them in the living room of the safe house.
Jim's world spun violently around him. The tumbler in his hand shook. The ice made tinkling sounds against the glass, his hand trembled so hard. The other hand gripped the table, as if his life depended on it, and maybe, just maybe it did. It had been ten years since the urge had been this great. His daughter, the only real family he had left was once again in surgery fighting for her life. He wanted the burn as the amber liquid slipped past his lips and down his throat. He craved the numbness that would follow. This world had taken enough from him, who would begrudge him a drink.
"She wouldn't want you to do that, Mr. Beckett. She'd want you to be strong, want you to be there when this was over. If you take that drink she'll never forgive herself. She'll blame herself. Don't let her lose you again, because I'm not sure she could handle anymore losses." Alexis walked over to Jim, took the glass from his hand and poured it down the sink. "We all need you."
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Jackson Hunt was unconscious, his vital signs had been strong and steady. That was good enough. The CIA operation had been quick and easy. He had been scheduled for a CT scan and an MRI. Instead of being wheeled to radiology, he was wheeled quietly into the back of a waiting ambulance. Hospital staff would be told he died of a heart attack while having the MRI, but all medical records for Jackson Hunt would officially disappear. He had been wiped clean from the hospital database, his license, bank accounts, everything that ever pointed to a man called Jackson Hunt ceased to exists.
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