Sorry for the delay in posting this. Life has gotten in the way, and I hit a rough spot. If you're all out there still reading thanks, and please let me know what you thought. This is my entry in the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon. Thanks for reading!

Shaw knew she had made a major mistake when she didn't warn Beckett. One that, had she been thinking clearly, she would never have made. She had many excuses, too close to the victims, exhaustion, and just being human, but they were not enough. This sat squarely on her shoulders, and if she hoped to help at all, it had to be quick. She knew that she would not come out of this one unscathed and her time was limited before the men in the hallowed halls pulled her.

She entered the 12th knowing that the reception was going to be far from warm. She walked right into Gates' office, and was not at all disappointed in Gates reaction. Gates turned anger and frustration written across her face. Shaw spoke before Gates was able to.

"There is a reason we don't work cases for people we know. I should have said no. It almost cost Castle and Beckett their lives. The people in the hallowed halls will come and pull me off this case soon, and they are right to do that, but until that moment I want to do whatever I can. I want these sons of bitches!"

Gates opened her bottom drawer, pulled out a folder and dropped it in the middle of her desk.

"CSU went over every inch of Walker's motel room last night. They found this." She pulled out an evidence bag containing a folded piece of paper with something written on it and handed it to Shaw. It has "V. Volkov is here? Where?" scribbled across it.

"We traced the money to Vladimir Volkov who is the older brother of Gregory Volkov, the man Hunt and Castle killed rescuing Alexis. Walker left Moscow four weeks ago and came straight to New York where he stole the custodians identity. One of our teams discovered the custodian's body at his home this morning. he had been dead for quite a while. Walker even opened a local bank account and we are looking into that now."

Shaw's eyes widened. "This is going to be very messy. Do we know if Volkov is in New York?"

"We checked all international flights landing at LaGuardia or JFK in the last week. He arrived three days ago and has checked into a hotel in the city."

"We have to be very careful, one mistake and it could cause an international incident between our countries. With Vladimir out there Castle and Beckett are still not safe. Ryan is with Castle, Esposito with Beckett. Each have checked in that there are also two Marshall's with them. We don't know if Vladimir knows Walker is dead. Let's make sure that piece of information is not released to the press quite yet."

"Agent Shaw, we need this wrapped up quickly. Every available man and woman at the 12th is being utilized. Neither Beckett or Castle are in any shape to be moved. The hospital is a war zone and people are starting to panic. We need to find Volkov right now!"

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

She had been in surgery for hours. To the family at the safe house it seemed like an eternity. They were trapped and restless. The TV showed numerous body bags as they were removed from the hospital, headed for the morgue. They could see the usual after the action platoon of heavily armed agents and uniforms everywhere. Yet, no one had spotted any of their loved ones.

Jim was wearing out the floor as he paced back and forth. Everyone had been keeping their eyes on him after Alexis had told her Grams what had happened. His fingers clenched tightly around his serenity prayer.

Alexis sat on the ottoman and scanned the TV for her Dad, Beckett or the boys. So far it had been fruitless, though she knew that at last check everyone was still ok. Kate was still in surgery. Castle, had been sedated and moved to another room. Ryan and Espo had been split up and were guarding her dad and Beckett.

Martha, Jenny and Lanie distracted themselves with Sarah Grace.

The phone finally rang. All eyes turned towards the agent that answered. He turned and held out the phone towards Jim. Jim stood motionless for what seemed like forever, then Martha stepped forward and guided him to the phone.

"Hello?" Jim's voice shakes with uncertainty.

"Mr. Beckett this is Dr. Hutchinson, I'm the surgeon who performed the surgery on your daughter. Your daughter was shot twice. One passed through the upper left chest just below her shoulder. The other bullet passed through the extreme left side of her chest just below her left breast. Both bullets missed her major arteries and veins but punctured her left lung. Based on my experience as a combat surgeon, the wound channel and lack of fragmentation, the type of bullets used were low velocity, and did not expand as they went through her. The care she received within seconds of being shot saved her life. She was very lucky, Mr. Beckett. She's officially in critical condition. We have her in intensive care because we want to monitor her condition very closely. We'll know more in twenty four hours, but for now, the prognosis is favorable."

"Thank you, doctor." Jim turned, handed the agents back his phone and dropped into the arm chair next to him. Tears streamed unchecked down his face. There was silence in the room as everyone waited for Jim to relay the doctors words.

After a few seconds he wiped his face with his shirt sleeve, looked up at them and said,"She's going to be ok. She was shot twice in the chest. The bullets punctured her lungs but missed the other organs, major arteries and veins. The surgeon has worked combat zones and said the type of ammunition used was low velocity and the bullets didn't expand or fragment. She's in intensive care, listed as critical. He said they will know more in twenty four hours, but for now, the prognosis is favorable."

The room exploded with the sounds of Alexis and Martha's happy voices as they hugged. Lanie and Jenny joined them. Jim didn't participate. He sat quietly, tears rolled down his face and wondered how many lives his daughter had left before her luck ran out.

- C&B -

Blood everywhere. That's all he could see when he closed his eyes. Her blood splattered against the wall and pooled around her body. Once again he had watched her get shot and again he couldn't save her. He'd been frantic, yelled her name, begged her to hold on and not die.

It had taken Ryan and a male nurse to keep him in the bed while Beckett was being worked on. The moment help arrived, Castle was given a sedative. The last thing he saw before the drug dragged him under was Beckett, naked on the gurney, two shots to her chest fighting for her life.

- C&B -

Volkov was frantic. The non-stop news reports about the massacre at the hospital didn't tell him if Walker had succeeded. He'd repeatedly called Walker on his cell but the imbecile had not answered. He needed confirmation that everything had been taken care of before he returned to Moscow. He needed to know if Walker could be dealt with now, but he could be anywhere. He knew the police had launched a massive manhunt for Walker because it was on the news so he wouldn't return to his motel. He was desperate to get to him before the police did.

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