The next day.
Alexis was attempting to eat the meal her nurse brought her an hour ago. She couldn't even chew it enough because it was disgusting. She pushed the tray table away and just sipped her Gatorade.
Light knocks came from her door.
"All clear," she said.
Beckett slowly walked into the room with her hand behind her back. She smiled at Alexis.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I was hit by a truck. I kind of wish I was. Wouldn't be as traumatic, you know?"
Beckett just shrugged. She didn't want to agree with the idea of Alexis getting hit by a truck. More damage to her would have happened then just a few bruises and rope marks around her neck.
"I brought you something."
She pulled the bag of food she bought at Remy's from behind her back.
"Real food!" Alexis exclaimed as she took it from her.
Beckett took her seat next to the bed and waited until Alexis was situated with her food.
Alexis took a bite of her burger and looked over at Beckett. She knew questions were coming her way and she was somewhat prepared for them.
"You have to ask me questions. I understand," she said.
"If any of them bother you, just let me know and I will stop."
"Okay."
"Did you see who did this to you?"
Alexis shook her head no as she continued to eat. She swallowed her bite.
"It happened so fast. It's kind of blurry…"
"Take your time."
Alexis inhaled and closed her eyes. The events of the other night ran through her mind. She froze when the man's face appeared.
"Tall. Medium build. Dark hair. Shortish hair. Um…"
"Would you mind talking to a sketch artist? I mean the description sounds like him, but they can draw it out."
Alexis' hands started to shake because the incident kept running through her mind now.
Beckett placed her hand on hers and held it.
"I will not let anything else happen to you, do you understand?"
Alexis nodded slowly.
"We will catch him. He can't get away next time."
Ten minutes later, Castle came walking into the room to find his two girls talking to each other.
"Hey," he smiled at the two of them and kissed Alexis' forehead.
"Did you answer Ryan and Esposito's questions?" Beckett asked.
"Yes. They already have a lead."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He was spotted in Central Park late last night."
"Doing…?"
"Sitting. The witness said it looked like he was just waiting for something to happen."
"Huh…"
"But anyway, how are you Pumpkin?" he asked his daughter.
"Okay."
"Did the questions bother you?"
"A little, but Kate helped."
"She's good that way, isn't she?" he smiled at Beckett.
"Very. I'm more relaxed now."
Just then, Beckett's phone began to ring. She quickly extracted it from her coat pocket and answered it.
"Beckett."
xoxoxo
"It's his M.O. for sure," Beckett said to Ryan.
"Do you think it was random though?" he asked.
"Young beautiful blonde… I'd say he was probably tracking her for awhile and decided since he couldn't get Alexis, he'd get her."
"Sounds like the most logical theory I've heard so far," Lanie said as she bent down to get a better look at the body.
"Do we have a name?" Beckett asked.
"Ashley Miles," Esposito said as he waved her purse in front of him.
"Looks good on you," Ryan teased.
Lanie looked up to see what they were talking about and rolled her eyes.
"So where's your writer boy?" she asked.
"With Alexis."
"Ah. Well cause of death was from strangulation. Definitely his," Lanie said.
"Make sure you contact her family. I want you guys to talk to them, alright?" Beckett said to Ryan and Esposito.
"Where are you going?" Esposito asked.
"I'm going to get a cup of coffee then go inside her apartment."
"And give us all the work. Cold," Esposito shook his head.
xoxoxo
That night.
Beckett picked her phone up from her desk to see a text from Castle.
Are you coming back?
She texted him back saying that she was going to go home and shower first. She shrugged her coat on and stuck her phone in her pocket. Before she walked away from her desk, she grabbed her keys and headed out.
When she got outside, she saw Ryan running back into the precinct.
"What's the rush?"
"I forgot my keys," he said as he ran by her.
She smiled and shook her head. It was impossible to understand Ryan's little antics, but they made him Ryan.
She continued down the street and noticed a glare in an alley. She turned toward and took a few steps forward.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
She was about to turn around, but she saw it again. The idea of it being another body, made her walk down it. She was halfway down, when she was pushed into the wall to her right.
She tried to counterattack as fast as she could, but her shoulder was out of place. The pain traveled through her whole arm and up to her neck. She let out a cry as she was struck upon the head.
The blow made her dizzy. She fought the urge to close her eyes and let darkness take her.
"Not so tough now are you, Detective?"
….
Ryan walked out of the precinct to hear a yell. He instantly took out his gun and headed toward the noise. When he reached the alley way, he noticed two people struggling together. If he didn't know that the yell was from pain, then he would of thought they were having sex.
He ran down the alley a little ways and took aim.
"NYPD, freeze!"
The hooded man stepped away from the other figure which slumped to the ground.
Ryan knew that he was going to try and run so he shot his left leg. The shot made the man fall to the ground. Before he ran over to the other person, he pulled out his phone and called 911.
After the phone call, he ran closer to find that it was Beckett.
"Beckett, are you okay?"
"My… my shoulder," she whispered.
"Here. Let me…"
"Cuff him first. He's crawling away."
Ryan got up quickly and walked over to the man he figured was Jerry. He cuffed his arms behind his back and let him lay on the ground.
"Beckett are you sure you're okay?"
"I will be," she forced a smile.
xoxoxo
A few days later…
"Come on, Dad. You can't eat all the pizza," Alexis shouted at him from the kitchen.
Beckett looked over at him. He had four pieces of pizza on a plate.
"No wonder someone is getting a little more round-" she patted his stomach. "-right there."
Castle put his plate on the coffee table and grunted.
"Works every single time," Beckett smiled at him and took a piece off his plate.
Alexis sat on the couch next to her and took another piece.
"Aren't you guys supposed to be resting?" Castle asked.
"I was in the hospital for awhile. I did plenty of resting, Dad."
"And the Captain made me stay home for a few days. I think I rested enough."
"You two always, always gang up on me. It's really no fair."
"Look who's pouting," Alexis teased.
"Aw. Ricky is such a baby."
"Fine. I'm going to shower and go to bed."
He kissed Alexis' forehead and Beckett's lips. He smiled at them both before heading to the bathroom.
"It's fun teasing him," Beckett said.
"I agree. He can get so upset sometimes."
"At least I know that we can make a plan to bother him whenever we want."
"Yeah," Alexis smiled.
AN: As always, if there's any small errors please let me know. I will be updating more when college starts because I usually write in easy classes like last semester (: Hope you enjoyed this chapter.