"Kev? Kevin?" Javier questioned, pulling the phone back to make sure the call hadn't been dropped.

"What the hell?"

He could vaguely hear something, maybe voices? Javier didn't know what the hell was going on but he was getting a bad feeling about it. Snatching his keys out of his desk drawer he turned to leave and almost ran into Beckett, making her slosh coffee all over her hand to avoid upending it on both of them.

Beckett hissed and sat the cup down, shaking the hot liquid off her hand as Javier offered a napkin from his desk.

"What's the rush?" She asked.

"Something's wrong with Kevin."

"What? What happened?" She asked, freezing in her attempt to wipe the coffee away.

"Come on I'll explain on the way."

As they left the building he told her about the call from Kevin, the checking of the security footage and seeing Castle go into the morgue, take some things from Lanie's lab and then leave again.

"What kind of evidence?"

"No idea, we never got that far," he said sliding behind the wheel and starting the car. "Castle must've been there when I called back because it sounded like he was asking him about it but- then he just stopped."

"Stopped?"

"Yeah, and made this sound like- a not good kind of sound. Like someone was stopping him from asking anymore," Javier said, his hands tightening on the wheel as he remembered that sound.

"He didn't come back on the line? He hung up?"

"No, the line was still open. I heard Castle say something about a potent victor? And repenting and changing?"

He looked over at Beckett to see her head tilt thoughtfully. "That sounds familiar…"

After a long pause where Javier navigated the traffic, she spoke again.

"And till then who knew the force of those dire arms? Yet not for those, not what potent victor in his rage can else inflict, do I repent or change. Though changed in outward luster, that fixed mind and high distain, from sense of injured merit, that with the mightiest raised me to contend. "

"Say what now?"

"Is that what Castle said?"

"Uh, yeah, the middle part."

"It's a Milton quote. The devil says it when he's cast out of heaven. Basically, that no matter what God inflicted on him he wasn't going to change. Why the hell would Castle quote that?"

"I'm getting a bad feeling," Javier said, tires squealing a little on a fast right.

"Did he say anything else?"

"I don't know, everything got all muffled then. Hung up and tried back when we were on our way out but there wasn't any answer," Javier said, then paused. "Wait, he didn't say anything else and it was definitely his voice, but there was something weird about it. Like he was trying to sound southern."

"Southern? Like a southern accent?" Beckett's face twisted in confusion.

They pulled up to Kevin's building before they could discuss it any further. Javier parked it illegally and jumped out, Beckett following as they burst through the door and pounded up the stairs. He couldn't really explain why, but he felt more tightly wound with each step.

Kevin's door was unlocked and he burst through it with enough force to have broken it even if it had been locked. Looking around, he spotted movement down the hall. There he saw Castle looking at him with wide eyes from a squatted position in Kev's bedroom.

"Castle, what the hell-" Becket started before her breath cut off sharply.

It was then that Javier noticed the red covering Castle's hands, and that he was in fact squatting over someone. Someone that wasn't moving.

"Hands! Now!" He barked pulling his gun.

Castle blinked at him in shock for a second before his hands flew up.

"Back away from him," he said, advancing down the hall slowly, gun trained on Castle.

Keeping his eyes on Castle as he scooted back on his butt, he didn't look at Beckett as he said simply, "Beckett, check Kevin."

She moved past him quickly and squatted next to the body.

"Stab wound to the abdomen, a lot of blood loss, he's still breathing," she said, her voice shaking.

He risked taking his eyes of Castle then and almost wished he hadn't. Kev had been looking pale lately but now he looked bloodless. And give the amount of blood on his clothes and the floor around him that was a possibility. He felt a furious tremble working through him, part anger part fear, as he looked down at his partner.

"Put pressure on it," Castle said softly making Javier's eyes dart back to him. "I was- but then I moved."

Beckett's hands were already moving into position where Javier could see there was indeed a bath towel, now a blotchy brilliant red pressed to Kevin's stomach.

"Espo, we need an ambulance, now," Beckett said, voice breaking slightly on the last word.

"I already-" Castle stopped as Javier looked at him fiercely again.

"Sorry if I'm not taking your word for it," he bit out, pulling his phone. Before he could dial though, he heard the sound of wailing sirens pulling up outside.

"I get that you're freaked out," Castle said, sounding a little angry. "But I'm not the enemy here. Why are you acting like I'm the one that did this?"

"Then tell us what happened," Beckett said, looking at him intensely from her kneeling position. "Because this isn't looking good for you right now."

Castle looked more confused than ever. "Why? I don't- I just got here a few minutes ago. We were supposed to be meeting up and I was running late. I came in and found him like this."

"I heard you," Javier bit out, taking a step forward with the gun still firmly aimed at Castle. "You were here when I was on the phone with him at least fifteen minutes ago, when he was fine and not bleeding out on the fucking floor. So don't sit there and tell me you just got here and have no idea how this happened."

"I don't know what you thought you heard, but I'm saying I just got here and don't know what happened because I just got here and don't know what happened!" Castle said, the last part rising to a yell just as the paramedics came in the door.

They paused at the sight of him holding Castle at gunpoint, so he flashed his badge.

"NYPD. Got a stabbing in here. You," he said gesturing to Castle. "Go in the bathroom."

Castle, looking irritated but resigned, followed his instructions.

He could hear Beckett talking to the paramedics as they worked, but it was all background noise as he watched Kev. He was limp and unresponsive to all of their prodding and questions. Pulled eyelids and rolling onto the stretcher had zero effect on him. Javier rubbed his mouth roughly with his free hand and fought back the fear that this might be last time he ever saw Kevin alive.

It was as they were lifting the stretcher that Javier noticed Kevin's holster was empty.

"I told you that taco truck looked shady," Dawn said, twisting to look at Kennedy from the front seat.

The Slayer had an uncomfortable look on her face and was shifting in her seat every few seconds. It was a testament to how off she must've felt that Dawn had actually managed to snag the front seat. If she had better manners, she would've offered it to Castle, but she couldn't resist taking it for herself when Kennedy was distracted by her brewing diarrhea or whatever was going on inside of her.

"The one with half naked lady on the side that looks like it was done in chalk?" Castle asked. "Definitely not a good idea."

"No, this didn't even have that much effort. Just a white truck with a taco drawn on the side in sharpie," Dawn said.

Kennedy just shot both of them a death glare, the lack of sniping telling Dawn better than anything else that she felt off.

"Maybe Xander can stop for some Pepto?"

"Sure," Xander said from the driver's seat. "It'd be better for all of us if you didn't need a bathroom break in the middle fighting a demon. So, Tums, Pepto, Imodium, Depends – name your poison."

"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Just feel a little… weird. Don't have to crap or puke or anything."

"That's good," Castle said. "That would put a damper on the evening. So, where exactly are we headed?"

"We got a list of some underground hotspots we're going to check out," Dawn said. "Think we should wait for Kevin before we dive in? He seemed like he really wanted to go…"

"He'll call when he's done with work," Castle said with a smile, patting the pocket of his leather coat. "Any chance your sister will be joining us on this little outing?"

"Uh, I guess there's always a chance," Dawn said slowly as Xander shot Castle a weird look. "Haven't heard anything from Willow about her waking up yet though."

Castle's smile got even bigger.

Buffy's left eyebrow twitched – someone was talking about her. She frowned and went to smooth it with a hand but ended up smacking herself in the face instead when the limb didn't quite want to give its full cooperation.

"Owwww…"

"Oh! You're awake!"

Willow's chipper voice came in and out, like a bad radio signal – too loud then too faint. She peeked her eyes open and saw nothing but a blurry swath of grey.

"Not so much," she muttered, tongue feeling heavy.

"What's that mean? What's wrong? How do you feel?"

It took Buffy a moment to process these words as she tried to blink away the fog.

"Like I need a bucket of coffee for the first two. Third can't be answered until I have said bucket of coffee."

"Right, coffee."

Buffy frowned as Willow rushed off. What was going on? As the ceiling became a little clearer a more important question formed – just where the hell was she?

Sitting up took more time, concentration and effort than it should have. Every move felt heavy and clumsy. Her eyes were clearing though, because she was starting to realize the grey from earlier were the walls in the castle. In Scotland.

What the…

"Buffy," Giles came in wearing a big smile and carrying what she hoped was a tray full of coffee goodness and not his usual tea. "Glad to see you're awake."

"Um, yeah, waking up's a real achievement," she said in confusion, eyes locked on the coffee.

Then Willow walked in with a plate of fruit and toast and she forgot all about the coffee.

"So, what's the what?" She asked a few minutes later, after shoving the last piece of toast in her mouth and washing it down with a scalding gulp of coffee. "Wasn't I in New York?"

"Tell us what you remember," Giles said, leaning forward.

"Let's see… Took care of a nest of Roknar demons, staked a few vamps, headed home. Was getting post-its to leave Kevin a note…"

She rubbed an eye and furrowed her brow. Something happened then… But it was all jumbled up… What was it…

"Oh!" She said, jumping up and spilling coffee all over as her legs weeble-woobled for a moment.

Giles grabbed an arm and gently pushed her back on to the bed.

"Giles! There was an ubervamp in my apartment!"

"So it was a Turok Han, then?" Giles asked, sitting next to her.

"Oh, yeah. Freaking thing came out of nowhere," she said, distinctly remembering getting her butt handed to her as she got over her shock. Then…

"Oh!" She said, jumping up and weeble-wobbling again.

Giles pushed her back on the bed again. "Please refrain from hurting yourself any further."

"Caleb!" She blurted. "He was there!"

"Caleb?" Willow asked. "Are you sure you're not remembering Kevin's friend?"

"I- What?"

"Kevin's friend Castle. The guy that looks like Caleb?"

"Kevin has a friend that looks like Caleb? And you know this how?"

"Let's start with what we know," Giles said, taking off his glasses and cleaning them. "Willow, tell Buffy what's happened while she's been in a coma-"

"I was in a coma?! Oh my God, Giles, you do look so much older now that I'm looking closer. How many years has it been? Kevin must've moved on by now. Is he married? He's married with babies now, right? Giles, your eyebrow is twitching…"

"Are you quite sure the MRI showed no brain damage?"