Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. I really try to personally thank everyone who reviews with an account here (if I missed you, it wasn't intentional!) and to the guests whom I can't personally thank…I'm thanking you now. Especially the guest who said I was one of the best writers…thank you, those words mean a lot. I'm hardly the best, I just try to keep everyone as much in character as possible.

Fair warning…I detest writing casework and police work…so the shooter stuff is going to get wrapped up without much actual procedural writing. That's not to say there won't still be a confrontation, but I prefer to focus my writing on the relationships and the angst as opposed to someone running down 3 different leads.

I still don't own Castle…

xxxxx

When Beckett walked into Castle's room, she was carrying two cups of coffee. She smiled when she saw him sitting up, looking better than he had the evening before; he still didn't look completely like himself, but she could tell he seemed to be a little more rested and feeling slightly better. "Hey," she greeted, placing his coffee on the stand beside his bed where he'd be able to reach it.

"Beckett…you brought me coffee," Castle greeted her with a smile.

She hid an almost shy smile behind her own cup as she took a drink. "I figured it's the least I can do. I probably owe you like a hundred coffees by now, right?" she joked lightly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm on some good pain medication. And I'm still tired. But all things considered, not as bad as the alternative," he answered her question. "The doctor did morning rounds already; apparently I'm good enough to move down to a regular room later today."

"That's good," she told him with a smile. "Do you feel up to talking about what you remember?" she asked after a moment, cautiously broaching the subject. Her smile faded slightly when she noticed the look on his face. "You don't have to right now…"

"No," he interrupted her. "No, I can, it's just…you're still going after the guy?" Though he knew he shouldn't be that surprised. She had blinders on when it came to anything to do with her mother's case.

"You can't be surprised by that, Castle," she stated simply. "Why wouldn't I be trying to find the man who shot you?"

"Because he's going to kill you, Kate!" he said in frustration.

She scoffed slightly. "I'm a cop, Castle. I can take care of myself. Besides, I'm not an easy target. I know they're looking for me."

He just stared at her. He could not believe they were going to have this same argument all over again right now, after everything. "Considering everything that happened, I'd disagree with that statement." Seeing her look, he pressed on. "If I hadn't shoved you out of the way, you'd be right here. Or worse."

She swallowed hard at his words and was silent for a moment. She didn't want to fight with him. "Are you going to tell me what you remember about the shooting, or not?" she finally asked, doing her best to keep her tone neutral.

He clenched his jaw for a moment. "Not much. All I saw was a flash of light. It must have been the sunlight catching something on the gun," he relayed the information to her. "That little flash was all I saw."

She sighed, running her hand through her hair. "That's not surprising. We don't have much more than that either," she admitted to him. "It's like he just vanished."

"Then let him vanish, Kate," he pleaded with her, meeting her eyes.

Silently holding his stare for a few moments, she finally had to look away. "So what are your plans when you get out of here?" she tried to change the subject. She didn't want to fight with him, but she wasn't backing down from the case either. It was too personal.

"I don't know. I supposed I would just recover at the loft. Why?"

Taking a deep breath at the frustration in his tone, she released it slowly. "Maybe…you should go to the Hamptons," she suggested, trying to keep her tone indifferent. "It seems like a much more peaceful place to recover." And you won't be in the city in case I still haven't caught the jackass by then, so you won't have to know what I'm doing.

"You're trying to get rid of me," he commented.

"Why would I do that?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Because if you're still hunting the shooter by the time I'm released, you don't want me here to stop you."

Damn. She'd honestly hoped to avoid having to talk about her plan with him, but he knew her playbook too well, so there was no reason to bother trying to hide it anymore. "Castle, I'm hunting down this son of a bitch whether you like it or not. He's connected to my mother's murder. He came after me. You got shot because you're too close to me," she stated firmly, her voice raising and taking an angry edge. "Now I'm asking you to go to the Hamptons when you're released. Don't make me go through Alexis and your mother to get you there," she stated in a low tone, her eyes meeting his, daring him to challenge her. She would absolutely do it. She was not backing down on this; she needed him out of the city for her to do what she needed to do; if he was still in the city and found out exactly how she planned to get the shooter, he would try to stop her.

He stared her down for a few moments before relenting. "Fine," he said lowly, clearly not happy with her. "There's no way to ever win this argument with you; you're going to do what you want to do anyway. You're determined to push me away, so fine. You win. When I'm released, I'll go to the Hamptons, and you won't have to worry about anyone trying to stop you from running straight down the rabbit hole and getting yourself killed." Had he not been stuck in a hospital bed during this argument, he would have walked away at that point. Instead, all he could do was glare at her.

"Good morning, Richard!" Martha came striding into the room with a smile. Seeing her son and the detective seemingly caught in the middle of a tense exchange, she paused. "Am I interrupting?"

"No, Mother. Beckett was just leaving," Castle answered, his eyes never leaving her and his voice laced with anger.

Beckett swallowed hard at the sound of his tone. He was kicking her out. Nodding, she took a deep breath and stepped away from his bedside. "Good to see you again, Martha," she acknowledged his mother on her way out the door.

Martha watched the detective leave and then turned her eyes to her son. "What did I just walk in on?"

Castle clenched his jaw and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "She's going after the shooter."

"Of course she is. She's a police officer…that's her job."

"No, not like this. This guy is going to kill her, Mother, and she's running straight toward him!"

"Richard…the last thing Katherine Beckett needs is for you to try to be her protector…look where that's gotten you," she stated, gesturing to the hospital bed. "She's a detective and a grown woman who is more than capable of taking care of herself. What she needs is a friend to stand beside her."

He released a slow breath. "Yeah, well she's making damn sure I can't stand beside her. She's pushing me away," he said lowly. "She may not need me to protect her, but I don't want her trying to protect me either."

"Richard, this is who she is! You've known that since you began shadowing her. She hasn't suddenly changed, and yet you've always found a way to be by her side before."

"This is different…"

"You're right, it is," Martha nodded her head. "It's different because she cares about you."

"Mother…"

"I watched that woman go through hell while you were in surgery. Somehow, she pulled herself together enough to come over and be strong for me, and especially for Alexis. So don't sit there in that bed thinking that you're the only one in the relationship who cares deeply. She may not be able to say it, may not know how to show it, but I don't know many women who would do what she did…certainly not either of your ex-wives."

Castle sat quietly for a few moments. His mother was right. Both Gina and Meredith were self-absorbed and selfish. In a crisis, they would be more likely to think of themselves than to be there for his daughter or mother. "She's just so…maddening!" he finally sighed.

"Welcome to being in love, kiddo," Martha patted his hand sympathetically.

xxxxx

"Yo Beckett! How's Castle?" Esposito asked when he spotted her coming out of the elevator.

"Fine," she answered in a clipped tone.

He gave her a questioning look, but didn't push. "He remember seeing anything?"

"Nothing that will help," she shook her head, dropping down in her chair and bringing her fingers together to lock as she rested her forehead against her joined hands. "We're pretty much dead in the water."

"Uh, maybe not…" Ryan called out as he approached her desk. "Canvas turned up several people who saw a grounds worker during the funeral. Only when I talked to the cemetery, they said they didn't have anyone working at the time of the funeral," he offered his information with a smile.

"So the shooter disguised himself to blend in…" Beckett realized. "Was anyone able to see his face?"

"Already with a sketch artist," Ryan's smile grew.

Beckett returned the man's smile; this was a lead. It wasn't the best lead she'd ever gotten, but considering the difficulty of the case, and the lack of anything else, this was solid and it was something. At least she'd know what face she was looking for.

Before she could have another thought, a stern female voice came from the doorway of the captain's office. "Detective Beckett! My office!"

Beckett's head snapped around at the sound of her name, and she gave the voice a nod before looking back to the boys. "Who's that?" she whispered.

"New captain started this morning. Captain Victoria 'Iron' Gates. Made her rank over in IA," Esposito explained. "You missed her morning briefing when she took over this morning."

"Great," Beckett murmured, standing and heading toward the office. Giving a knock, she stepped inside. "Yes Ma'am?"

"If you see my mother, you can call her Ma'am. You will call me Captain or Sir," she started, her eyes looking over the file on her desk.

This is going swimmingly. "Yes, Sir."

"Your reputation precedes you, Detective. Youngest woman in the NYPD to make detective. You beat me by 6 weeks."

"I didn't realize that people kept score," Beckett shook her head uncomfortably.

"Everybody keeps score, Detective. Especially those downtown," she stated, finally looking up to meet the eyes of the other woman. "You missed my morning briefing."

"Yes, Sir. I was getting a statement from a witness about the shooting case I'm working."

Gates leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms at that. "The shooting that took place at the funeral."

"Yes, Sir."

"The shooting involving Mr. Castle taking a bullet for you."

Beckett squirmed slightly, both uncomfortable and unsure where the conversation was going. "Yes, Sir."

Gates studied the younger woman for a moment. "I hope you shared the statement with Detectives Ryan and Esposito."

"I did."

"Good, it's their case. You're not on this one."

Beckett's eyes widened. "Sir, it's my case!"

"No, Detective. It's not. I decide who works what case around here, and I won't stand for a detective investigating their own shooting."

"Sir, I wasn't shot."

"As the Mayor has been so quick to point out to me, you would have been if not for Mr. Castle. You're too involved, Detective. You can help connect the dots from inside these walls, but you are not to do any field work in this case."

"Sir…Castle…"

"Is a civilian who was shot protecting an NYPD detective," Gates interrupted.

"He's my partner. You have to let me find the shooter."

"No, he's a civilian consultant who bought his way into playing cop, not your partner. And I don't have to let you do anything. That is all, Detective."

Beckett stood there, at first not believing the conversation that had just taken place, and then not sure whether or not she could or even should fight this. "Yes, Sir," she stated lowly before heading out of the office and closing the door behind her.

Ryan and Esposito watched as she came out of the office looking like her head was about to explode. "What did Gates want?" Ryan asked.

"To bench me on this case," she huffed angrily.

The two men exchanged glances. "You know we won't keep anything from you on this one," Esposito promised her.

"Yeah, he's right. Just because the captain won't let you out in the field doesn't mean we can't use your help here."

Beckett clenched her jaw before releasing a deep breath. "Thanks," she murmured, making her way to the break room for coffee. There was nothing else she could say. She was going to go stir-crazy in the precinct on this case.

xxxxx

Thanks again to everyone who is reading. I know I gave poor Beckett a hell of a day here, but I hope you're still enjoying the story! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter.