"Not that I don't believe you, wait I don't believe that you rob banks. Rick go and have a seat on the couch over there." Josh says as he waves his gun in Rick's face.

"Kate honey, get me a knife."

Kate swallows hard. Why would he want a knife? She doesn't want anything to happen to Rick even if he did lie to her.

"A knife?"

"Yes, a knife," Josh repeats.

Rick walks into the living room and sits down on the couch and Josh follows.

Kevin who had decided that to save Rick's ass climbs up Kate's back stairway that leads her kitchen and living room area. He pokes his head to the window to see the situation. he's in luck because Josh and Rick are sitting on the couch together. but what alerts him to trouble is the fact that Kate is walking out of the kitchen with a knife. he watches a little longer and then he sees Kate give the knife to Josh. He ducks down out of sight and tries to find an alternate way to our kitchen window so he can get a shot off at Josh.

"Did you do time Rick?" Josh asks

"I did a year and a half."

"Where?"

"Sing Sing upstate New York."

Kate walks up to Josh with the knife in her hand. When Josh sees her he asks her for the knife.

"Give me the knife Kate."

The first Kate tries to pull the knife away but before she can he grabs it. She doesn't let it go because she knows the second she does he's going to use it against Rick. He is stronger than she is and he pries it from her hand.

Kevin is still in the process of trying to get to a window he can get a good shot off at Josh but is having no luck.

"Do you know who I am?" Josh asks Rick.

"No man I don't know who you are."

Josh gets up and walks behind Rick who is sitting on the couch. He takes the knife and he plunges it into the back of the couch ripping the material apart.

"I don't believe you. I think you know exactly who I am."

Rick feels the knife go into the back of the couch and the movement almost hits him he turns around and says to Josh,

"What the hell is the matter with you?

"I just wanted to know what these things were filled with."

Josh pulls out some stuffing and throws it over his shoulder and then he reaches into the back of the couch once more and pulls out three wads of one hundred dollar bills close to $150,000.

"Well, what it looks like they're made of money."

Kate looks at Rick and he could tell that she knew nothing of the money that was hidden in the back of her couch.

Josh gets up after he takes the money out, puts it on the counter, and picks up the phone.

"You know I was in Sing Sing did you know Peter Dell?"

"Nope," Rick replies.

"How about Mad Dog Ross? You gotta know Mad Dog."

"No, I don't know him either. But it was a pretty big place."

"If you don't know him who did you know? Did you know Eddy Gant?" Josh asks as he raises his gun and points it at Rick waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, yeah I knew Eddy Gant."

"What was he in for?"

Rick looks Josh square in the eye and says as clear as he can,

"He killed a cop."

Josh lowers his gun and continues with his phone call.

"Hello, Yeah yeah guess who this is? Yeah, that's right. Now shut up because I'm here to tell you that rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. Listen I don't have much time where are we going to do this because I need to do this now."

Kevin has finally found a window that he can get a good look at Josh he watches as Rick and Kate are sitting on the couch in the living room and Josh is on the phone.

"Okay, I'll be there. See you in twenty." Josh hangs up the phone and rubs his chin. He looks towards Kate and says,

"Pack a bag. We're leaving."

Just as Josh turns towards the kitchen and a light comes on from the neighboring house and it draws his attention to the window and he sees Kevin with his gun pointed right at him. He drops behind the counter for cover and when Rick sees him doing this he instinctively does the same thing.

"What's wrong?" Rick asks.

"Someone's out there!"

Rick knows who that someone is. Kevin has his back.

"You, get out the front door," Josh says as he points his gun back at Rick threatening to fire it at him.

"Relax man! Listen I'm not a part of whatever this is." Rick says.

"I don't care! Get down the stairs." Josh follows Rick down the stairs but before he goes he tells Kate,

"I will be back!"

Kevin knows that he was spotted and needs to get away from here. His only option is to jump across the alley to the other house and hide there. He can make the leap but he's unsure if the awning will hold him. He jumps anyway and makes it hoping that he wasn't seen.

Rick knows that Kevin is out there and he needs to get to him first. He saw Josh run out the front door and he will be looking for him too. Rick looks up to where Kevin last was and sees nothing. Then Kevin drops off the awning Rick spins around quickly.

Kevin pops up and as Rick turns around he sees Josh pointing a gun directly at his back. There's only one thing he can do and he's going to regret it but it's going to save his life so he pulls back his arm and punches Kevin right in the face.

Kevin sees Rick walking down between the two houses and drops him behind him Rick spins around the next thing he feels is his fist hitting his face. And if that wasn't bad enough he does it again. His gun hits the ground and Kevin falls backward.

Rick can see Josh itching to pull the trigger so he punches Kevin once more and then Kevin drops his gun and falls to the ground. The second he does he puts his hands up not wanting to be shot himself. Josh rushes up to Rick with his gun still pointed at him and retrieves Kevin's gun.

"What the fuck is going on?" Josh demands.

"I don't know man, take it easy." Rick still didn't want to get shot by this nut.

Josh needs to be out of sight because if he's caught here it's over for him. He orders Rick to get whoever this guy is inside the house. Rick picks up Kevin in a fireman's carry and brings him inside. Once he's inside Kate sees what's going on and keeps quiet. Rick dumps Kevin onto the couch and Josh searches him for any ID. When he finds something on him he looks at Rick.

"A cop! I should have known." He says as he throws the badge down.

Josh then finds his handcuffs and backs up from him. Just as he was about to tell Rick to cuff him Kevin comes around and wonders what the hell is going on.

"Hey what are you…"

"Shut up cop. Yeah, we know that you're a cop." Rick says to keep Kevin from being shot. Kevin sees the seriousness in his partner's eyes and stops talking.

"Hey back off," Josh tells Rick. He wants to know how this cop knew he was going to be here.

"How did you know that I was going to be here?"

Kevin looks at Josh defiantly. When he doesn't answer him Josh points the gun at him.

"If you don't tell me how you knew I'd be here you can say goodbye to your mother," Josh says as he pulls the hammer back on his gun.

Kate can see this going badly and grabs Josh's arm.

"Josh don't please!" She asks.

Just as she was going to say something else Rick speaks.

"He wasn't after you. He was after me. He was following me!"

All three of them turn and look at him. He needs to act fast and he does.

"What?" Josh says.

"Yeah. he was following me. I violated my parole remember. He was following me for a week." Rick walks over to Kevin and smacks him on the chest.

"I was onto you on Saturday asshole. You need to do your job better."

Rick thinks that he has a way to get Kevin safe and tells Josh,

"Look, Davidson, I have a car right outside. I can take you anywhere you want to go." Rick says.

Josh looks at Rick and then throws him Kevin's handcuffs.

"Cuff his hands behind his back. If he gets lose, you die!"

Rick swallows hard and does what Josh wants. As he pulls Kevin up to cuff him Josh tells him,

"You may think serving time and having a couple of cops on my ass gives me a reason to trust you, well let me tell you pal, the last people in the world I trust are ex-cons. Now let's move."

All four of them head to Rick's unmarked car and get in. Rick drives and he's waiting for Josh to tell him where he needs to go.

"Where are we going?" Rick asks.

"Just drive I'll tell you as we go," Josh replies.

Rick looks at Kate and Josh in the rearview mirror, and he can't stand the fact that Josh is practically molesting her in the back seat.

"So tell me, Kate, what's the deal with this guy? I can't believe you even know someone like this."

Kate looks directly at Rick looking at her in the mirror and says,

"I don't even know who he is."

"Ain't love great Rick? One minute you're a god and the next you're a pig."

Rick kept an eye on Josh and he knew that it would piss him off if he had kissed her so the next thing he sees is Josh forcing a kiss to her lips and she complies but he can tell that she hates it.

In a whisper, he tells her that they are leaving the country. Rick still hears him and asks,

"You going to Canada?"

"What are you, Rick? A travel agent? Just shut up and drive."

Rick looks forward and drives. By the time they get to where they are going, it's almost 4 am. They are on the Manhattan side of the East River. Josh tells Rick to pull over near an old factory and park the car. He does and they all get out of the car. Josh grabs Kevin and shoves him down the ramp that leads to the dock Kate and Rick follow.

When they get to the end of the dock Josh trips up Kevin and he lands in a pile of nets used for fishing. Rick is ordered to sit next to him. He objects and Josh is having none of it.

"Sit there and keep your mouth shut." Josh points the gun at Rick.

He turns away from the pair and walks up to Kate. Then he takes her by the arm.

"Kate, I need you to take a walk while I talk to this guy. He's our ticket out of here. So take a five minute walk okay."

"Why Josh?"

"Just take a walk for me will ya? Come back in five minutes then we can leave."

"You're going to kill them aren't you?"

He looks at her and can't believe that she doesn't get it. So he'll tell her.

"Of course I'm going to kill them. I am not going to make love to them."

"And you expect me to go with you after you kill them?"

" They've seen my face Kate. I am not going back to prison. How long do you think I will live if I let them go?"

Rick took the opportunity to pass his handcuff keys to Kevin behind his back while Kate and Josh talked.

"They're both going to die, Kate because that guy is a cop and that guy…"

"Why?" Kate asks.

Josh pauses to think about what Rick had done to his woman "...has been inside you. Now take a walk."

"No. I'm not leaving."

It was then that Rick looked to his left and saw the small fishing boat coming towards them When he looked closer he recognized the man driving the boat. It was the same guy that they lost a week ago trying to capture in the fish factory. He tapped Kevin on the shoulder and motioned his head to the left. Kevin looks and finally gets his hands free of the cuffs.

"Kate get out of my way!"

Josh tries to take Kate and force her away from the dock but she only tells him to stop.

"Get your fucking hands off me."

He grabs her and tosses her to the ground. Kate is up and when she sees Josh raise his gun and get ready to pull the trigger she jumps on his back. He tosses her away like a rag doll. Then she stands right in front of him and open palm slaps him in the face. That was a mistake.

Josh has had enough and takes the butt of his gun and strikes Kate in the jaw knocking her down. When she falls she hits her head on the wooden railing and is dazed. She falls to the dock.

"Don't you ever hit me!" Josh says as he points his gun at her.

Rick wants to jump in and stop her from getting hurt anymore but the boat has now pulled up to where they are.

"Come on man we gotta get out of here!" The boat driver says.

Josh watches as he gets off the boat. When he sees Rick he tells Josh,

"You idiot! He's a cop."

"I know he's a cop. That's why he's handcuffed." Josh as he points to Kevin.

"Not him, jerk off, the other guy."

Just then Kevin springs forward and lands a punch to Josh's head that catches him off guard and he falls backward. When Rick grabs his arm to disarm him Josh takes his arm and throws him into the East River.

Kevin tackles the boat driver and they fall to the deck of the boat. They throw a couple of punches and the last one hits Kebin and knocks him back to the deck. Seeing this the boat driver grabs a net hook and embedding it into Kevin's shoulder causing him instant pain. Then with his momentum, he throws Kevin overboard.

Josh had seen Rick go over the edge of the dock and starts shooting at his last location in the water. Every time he fires a shot Kate screams knowing that one of his shots will hit him.

The boat driver takes advantage of having no cop after him and pushes the throttle to full speed. Josh sees this and can't believe that his way out of here is leaving.

"Hey wait for me you asshole!" Josh screams as the boat pulls away from the dock. Josh fires two rounds at the boat and both miss the driver.

Kevin had been able to get a hold of the tire bumpers that hung from the side of the boat. He hoisted himself up and got on the deck without being heard.

Rick swam close to shore where his car was parked and got out of the river and made his way to the car to get his gun.

Josh pulled Kate by her arm and shoved her back up the ramp that led to the shore. Rick seeing this made a run for the last 50 feet. He gets to the passenger side and opens the glove box to pull out his gun. Josh sees him in the car and raises his gun and fires a shot that hits the passenger window shattering it. Rick ducks and pops his head up to shoot back but Josh is using Kate as a human shield.

Kate sees a chance to get away so she elbows Josh in the stomach and he loses his grip on her. She ducks and Rick fires. He missed him by inches. Josh jumps over the fence and pops up and fires two more rounds that hit Rick's passenger side door then he runs into the factory. Rick fires once more but he misses.

From where he is Kevin can see the guy driving the boat and he's very quietly moving up to the upper command helm. He is close to him so he doesn't know he's even on board. Kevin climbs up the ladder and he has complete surprise, that is until he kicks a plastic bucket that alerts the driver that he's behind him. Kevin dropkicks him in the chest and pushed him back towards the throttle controls making the boat speed up when his arm pushes the throttle forward. It hits dock piling and bounces off it and Kevin gets in three good shots to his head. Then the guy gets his second wind and punches Kevin in the stomach. They trade blows for a good 30 seconds before the boat hits logs that are piled up for processing. Kevin and the guy he's fighting almost fall over. But Kevin gives him one good shot to the stomach and he falls onto the logs in the river. Kevin is holding on with one hand to the grab handle. He watches as the guy tries to get a hold of the log but it keeps spinning in the water. Eventually, he falls under the logs when they crush his body and he drowns.

Rick followed Josh into the wood processing company and when he saw him he fired two more rounds at him which both missed. Josh gets the idea to run to the control room and turn on everything to confuse Rick. It worked because when the logging machine came on Rick was disorientated and almost got hit by a hydraulic arm by one of the machines.

Josh watches as Rick dodges the log that rolls down and gets him close to a large saw blade. He follows one log that is being stripped of its bark and sees Josh still in the control room. He raises his weapon and fires twice breaking the glass and missing Josh by inches. Josh who had seen the shots coming ducks away from the flying glass and pops up to fire back but misses. He needs to get out of here. He was watching as the machine started to move in the opposite direction forcing Rick to move with the machine. By the time the machine had run its full cycle and Rick had nowhere to go before he got crushed by the log. Fortunately, Rick had fallen into a chute designed for the bark that was stripped off the tree. He slid below where the log was being cut. When he fell he dropped his gun along the conveyor belt and was heading towards a mulcher. He can't reach his gun.

As luck would have it the mulcher jammed up and he could try to get his gun back. He picked up a long board from the floor to try to knock his gun off the belt but while he was doing this the conveyor belt cleared the jam and his gun went into the mulcher becoming tiny pieces. He saw a shadow below him and hid because he knew it was Josh.

Josh needed to kill this cop. He jumped down to where he saw him last and started to search the area finding nothing. He was turning around to look in another area when he noticed someone jumping down through an opening in the walkway and slammed into his chest knocking him over dropping his gun in the shuffle.

Rick kept hitting Josh but Josh got his punches in as well. Rick sees the gun he dropped and tries to reach it. He was grabbed by Josh and thrown him against a log that had just rolled down to conveyor belt be stripped. Seeing this Josh pushed Rick into the belt and Rick's coat sleeve got stuck under the log allowing Josh to get the gun and shoot him.

Josh reaches for the gun and turns to where the cop was and finds him right where he left him. Knowing that he is stuck he raises his gun and says,

"I hope that you believe in reincarnation!"

He was about to pull the trigger and the cop was in his sights but he was hit in the head by a hard object.

Kate watched as Josh found his gun and went back to Rick to shoot him. She needed to act fast so the only thing she could use was a long piece of wood that was trimmed off the log. She picked up and swung it at Josh's head knocking him backward.

Stunned from the hit to his head Josh drops his gun and lands on the ground. Shaking it off he gets up to see Kate holding a long chunk of wood. When he goes to get up she shouts at him to stay there and not move. He does anyway and goes after her. She raises the wood and lands another hit to his shoulder.

Rick sees Kate hit Josh and the gun drop to the ground. He wriggles himself free and lunges for the gun. Once he has it he aims at Josh and fires. He hits him center mass and Josh goes down not believing that he was just shot in the chest. Rick watches as he falls back onto his elbow and he still can't believe that he was shot. He looks at Kate and then to Rick and he falls the rest of the way with his head on the ground dead.

Hours later Josh is in a body bag waiting for the coroner to take him to the morgue Sorrenson and Rick are watching as the zipper to the bag is closed.

"I was supposed to give you a call you if I saw him." He says as he points to Josh.

Sorrenson looks at Rick and Rick says,

"I forgot."

Rick sees Kevin being loaded onto an ambulance and walks up to the EMT loading him up.

"Will he be okay?"

"He will be once you get out of my way." The EMT replies.

"Kevin, how are you?"

"I'm good how are you, Rick?"

"I'm a little tired but other than that I'm okay."

"A little tired huh? I'll tell you what, get some rest because when I get better I'm going to kick your ass."

Rick can only laugh at him as he walks away.

"Castle, you did not hit me once but twice! This was one of the worst nights of my life. You're dust Castle just wait!"

"I'll see you soon Kevin," Rick says as he walks away still laughing. Then he sees Captain Montgomery. He walks up to him and sees Kate over his shoulder sitting in a marked unit.

"Turn around Castle."

"Turn around? I just want to see how she's doing."

"Listen Sorrenson from the FBI says that you and she have something going on with each other. They want a full investigation. He said that you could be in a lot of trouble."

"What! Nothing is going on with us." Rick protests.

"Then I told him that you're always in trouble." Montgomery gives Rick a tight smile and a chuckle and walks away patting him on the back.

Rick walks over to where Kate is and looks at her. He sees the dried blood from when Josh hit her with his gun and feels bad. He looks her right in the eyes and says,

"You saved my life."

She sees him for who he is at this moment and then has a thought to keep him forever.

"You do know what that means don't you?"

"No what?"

Kate gets up from the car and says,

"You belong to me now." She says with tears forming in her eyes.

Rick pulls her to him and kisses her as his life depended on it. Captain Montgomery who was just about to get into his car looks across to where he left Rick and sees them close to each other in a serious lip lock and shakes his head knowing that they were involved all along. But he hopes they make it. It would be a good thing to come out of all this.

"What's your name really?

"It is Rick. Rick Castle."

"Well Rick, I love you."

Rick looks into her eyes again and when she looks into his he says,

"Kate, I love you too. Let me take you home."

As they walk away towards his car Kevin had seen them kissing each other from the back of the ambulance says to himself,

"What a bone head…."

~Fin~

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this. But it is now complete. Thanks for reading and I do apologize for any bad feelings/memories that I might have caused earlier in the story. Until next time…

P2P