A/N: So, yes, this is another (very belated) 3XK post-ep; but this one is about Castle and Ryan, and how they deal with the fact that someone got the drop on them. Because once you've been held hostage together, you're sort of stuck with each other.

Blood Brothers

Castle attempts to bribe Ryan with an iPhone, and Ryan gets a new gun. Post-ep for 3XK.

Beckett and Esposito were already hard at work on the paperwork for the fiasco of the night before when Castle walked into the bullpen a few minutes after nine, but Ryan was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where's Ryan? Did he take the day?"

Beckett looked up. "He's down at the range."

"Taking down some shifty little bastard silhouettes? I'm there. See you guys later!"

"Castle! I don't think he-" Beckett sighed. "-wants any company." She finished as Castle did a 180 to the elevator. "I swear to God, Esposito, one of these days."

Esposito nodded. "I'll bring the shovel."

Castle had learned his lesson when visiting Beckett down on the range the last time – he grabbed a pair of ear muffs on his way in. Ryan was easy to spot, considering that it was nine in the morning and he was the only one there.

"Kill any zombies today, Ryan?" Castle called, loud enough to be heard over the gun reports.

"Castle?" Ryan pulled his ear protection down and stared at the writer. "Shouldn't you be upstairs annoying the ever-loving shit out of Beckett?"

"You have such a way with words, Ryan," Castle smirked.

Ryan shrugged. "What are you doing down here?"

Castle dropped a box in front of Ryan. "Since you probably haven't gotten a new one yet."

Ryan opened the box suspiciously and his eyes lit up when he saw the iPhone. "I can't take this, Castle."

"Why not? Sure you can. Alexis and I did some bargain hunting before school today and we found this awesome little deal that gets you everything had on your old phone plus a 6GB data plan for what you paid before. Alexis even conned them into throwing in a free belt clip. I'm determined to bring all three of you into the 21st century, and if the Hulk had managed to break Esposito's, he would have gotten one a few weeks ago."

Ryan thought about asking how Castle knew what Ryan paid for his phone, and then decided he didn't really want to know the answer.

"Besides," Castle continued. "If you think about it, I'm really just trying to assuage my guilt over feeling responsible for yesterday."

"For what now?" Ryan asked.

"For not figuring it out sooner. Or later. A few minutes either way, and you wouldn't have found yourself knocked out."

Ryan shrugged. "You still beat the rest of us, Castle. And getting knocked out is just one of the hazards of the job. Could have been worse." Ryan flipped the power on the iPhone and started browsing. "You downloaded a bunch of ridiculous apps, didn't you?"

"No. …Okay, maybe a few."

"Dude!" Ryan looked up a few minutes later. "If you really felt bad you would have shelled out for the MLB app."

Castle sputtered.

"That was a joke, Castle."

"Right," Castle huffed. "Hey, what are you doing down here, anyways?"

"Looking for a new gun."

Castle noticed the guns lined up in front of Ryan for the first time. "Oh yeah, Jerry took your old one."

"Sorry about that, Castle," Ryan winced.

"Why? You were unconscious, couldn't have done anything about it. Besides, it's not the first time I've been on the wrong side of your gun."

"I thought we agreed never to talk about that."

"You almost shot me, Annie-Get-Your-Gun."

"Espo still thinks I should have," Ryan retorted. "And you really have seen too many musicals, dude."

Ryan paused.

"Even if Jerry left my gun, I would have been down here today."

"Why?"

"When I was in Narcotics, my partner and I got caught in a firefight. I had to shoot past her to get one of them, and all I saw for the next month whenever I drew my gun was her face in the crosshairs. Didn't matter that I never had her in my sights to start with. Finally went down to the range, tried out a few Glocks, switched one out. It's – the karma, the juju, whatever you want to call it – it was messed up. Jerry almost used mine on you, and if he had, I would have been next. Nah man, not a gun I'd want to hold onto."

"So when I came back and you guys arrested me…"

"I traded out. Esposito already said it, Castle, you're our partner, and I don't keep guns someone's pointed at my partners. But don't make it a habit, Castle, it's getting annoying."

"You find one yet?"

Ryan held one up.

"It looks the same," Castle shrugged.

"They do make more than one of each gun, Castle."

"I know that."

"'Course you do," Ryan rolled his eyes. "Go bug Beckett, I need to sign these back in."

"You know, if she ever heard you say that…"

"Who's going to tell her?" Ryan asked.

"Good point."

Castle was waiting outside the shooting range for Ryan with two coffees when he walked outside a few minutes later.

"One of those better be for Beckett," Ryan told him.

"One's for you," Castle replied, brow furrowed.

"Great. I've inherited a stalker," Ryan sighed, but took the coffee anyways. Who was he to pass up a free cup?

"I do not stalk Beckett." Castle argued as they stepped into the elevator.

"No, you shadow her. Which is pretty much stalking… with permission."

"It's the permission part that makes it not stalking."

"Are you really going to argue semantics with me?"

"Castle I'm telling you, the Rangers are going to do it this year."

"Against the Penguins? Fat chance."

"Early days yet, Castle. They're gonna be big this year."

"Willing to put your money where your mouth is, Ryan?"

"What are we talking about?"

"Twenty bucks?"

"Sounds fair."

"Ryan, the Rangers aren't going to do crap this year," Esposito interjected, catching the tail end of their conversation as they re-entered the bullpen.

"Says the other Ranger fan. They're in third place right now, you know that."

"Ryan, they're behind the Flyers and the Penguins – Not a chance in hell."

"They've also played less games than those two, they have time to catch up."

"Guys. We do have work to do," Beckett stared at the three of them. "Can we save the sports predictions for after work?"

Castle, Esposito and Ryan sighed, and Castle slunk back over to Beckett's desk when he noticed she had a cup of coffee beside her. Esposito spun his chair back to his computer, and Ryan reluctantly dropped his new iPhone on top of a pile of completed files before reaching for a new one. They worked in silence for almost half an hour.

"Hey, bro, do you have the file for - Where'd that come from?" Esposito demanded, spinning his chair around to face Ryan.

"Hmm?" Ryan looked up, blinking, "Oh, the iPhone? It's from Castle. Which file were you looking for?"

"Where's my iPhone?" Esposito asked Castle, offended.

"You know he's just trying to buy your affection, Ryan."

"Oh, I know, Beckett. And it's working," Ryan grinned, tossing the phone to Esposito. "Check it out."

"And if you're good, Esposito, Father Castle will get you one for Christmas," Beckett snarked.