Castle 1. Chapter 1

**First Fanfic is on its way**

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Detective Ryan tried to slow down his heartbeat as he was looking at the gun pointed to his head. This time the game was over. Jenny has finally proven right. His work has met him with death more than once and eventually this would be the final encounter. His mind raced for some options but to his mind there was no possible escape. He spent the afternoon checking some leads to the current case with Espo and when an hour ago Lenny has called that she had some reports for Beckett, detective Esposito responded with a little too much of enthusiasm to this simple task. As broken Ryans heart was he still believed in True Love and the Happy Endings so he pretended to have some immediate plans in the neighborhood and sent Javi alone to the morgue. He tough that having the last address to check just two blocks away was something to keep him a little bit longer from returning to his empty apartment and the thoughts of his even emptier life.

The address was of some small Chinese dry cleaning where he was planning only to take a look and show some pictures for recognition. By some leap of luck or misfortune while trying to communicate with gestures with the Chinese woman at the counter he saw a glimpse of his suspect in a mirror at the corner of the room and unchained the disastrous sequence of events by only reaching for his gun under his vest. The suspect saw the movement in another mirror placed above the counter for surveillance from the back of the shop and the shooting has started. Ryan first didn't find his phone to ring for backup and after the chase has started it was too late.

And that's how he ended in a small blind street in a miserable neighborhood, his Glock on the ground unreachable at the moment and with no chance for backup coming. Any other help was excluded because that was the kind of neighborhood where after dark terrible things could happen but no one would "see" or "hear" anything because fear was a better noise isolator than anything. So he just stared at the man with the gun really resolute not to beg but to meet his heroic/pathetic death with dignity. "And all this because I still believe in Love" Surprisingly this was not going to be his last thought. In fact the two men were distracted by the growling of an over forced engine and as the two of them looked at the direction of the sound they saw a Black Mustang approaching full speed in their direction. It seemed that the driver had difficulties in maintaining straight line of movement and without so much of a hesitation the suspect jumped back in order to avoid the car crashing on him forgetting for this moment his target. Detective Ryan couldn't decide if this was help or another threat to his life as the car seemed out of control so he pulled back as near the wall as possible and completely forgot to reach for his gun.

Finally the car crashed with terrible noise in the wall just inches away from the suspect but had blocked his way at lest. For his great surprise when the passenger door was kicked open a young woman that Ryan has never saw in his life appeared and reached for him.

"Are you OK? Hurry, let's go" And grabbing him by his vest she started running towards the main street. In his confusion Ryan couldn't see his Glock and followed her as a better option for survival as he knew that the other man will free himself from the grip of the Mustang and was most probably still armed. As they reached the main street Ryan couldn't believe his eyes as he saw a patrol car coming full speed in their direction.

Everything happened for seconds. The patrol car pulled over and the two officers pointed their guns at them shouting "Hands in the air!" As he was in a civil attire the detective had no other option but to execute the order. By the corner of his eye he saw the girl doing the same thing and heard the suspect shooting behind his back. Two other shots had been produced and he heard the other man falling on the ground. Finally Ryan could catch his breath, he identified himself and explained the situation to the officers. The suspect was badly shot two times in the chest and detective Ryan called for an ambulance and then the rest of the team to inform them on the recent events. As he was doing his usual work on the crime scene he watched the girl who had saved him sitting on the ground covered with a blanket from the police car. First the ambulance came and took the suspect for treatment, then the rest of the team appeared- Javi wit Lanie by his side and Castle and Beckett and all of them were asking questions in the same time. As Ryan made a brief summary of the situation the first question that popped out was who was his savior? And what was she doing here at that time of the night.

They all surrounded the girl who was pale as a ghost and had the expression as if she was going to faint.

"Do you feel all-right." Lanie asked first.

The girl just shook her head and Lanie checked her for symptoms of post-traumatic stress. They all decided to take her to the precinct for more clarifications. Once arrived there Lanie took care of her and after half an hour she was finally able to talk. They were all gathered in one of the small rooms for meetings because she was not a suspect after all.

"First of all I want to thank you for saving my life. I am detective Kevin Ryan"

"Glad that I managed to help. I am Emily Gray. "

"Could you explain to us what happened."Castle couldn't hide the excitement in his voice as he was just waiting for more details so that he could start with his wildly unrealistic theories.

"I am sorry that I'm not very good at explaining things. It gets all messy in my head but I will do my best" the girl was holding her cup of tea as some sort of an anchor of hope.

"Don't worry it's not an interrogation or something. We just want to know what happened." That was the voice Beckett used only for the families of the victims- soft and comforting an it looked like she has done her magic once again as the girl loosen the grip of her cup of tea and seemed to relax a bit.

"So, I live in the neighborhood and was just in a hurry to get some things from the grocery store at the corner before it gets too late. Its not good to be outside after dark in this neighborhood. Passing by the blind street I saw two men storming from a back door in a struggle. I immediately called 911 for help but as the one of them was falling on the ground I saw a glimpse of his badge on his belt, so I informed 911 for the situation. And then I'm not sure how it all happened but I broke the window of the nearest car, started the engine with the cables and drove to the alley. The problem is that I'm not a good driver, especially in tiny spaces, so my biggest fear was that I'm going to run over both of them and in my attempt not to hit the officer I didn't hit the aggressor either. And we all know how it ended."

A moment of silence followed as they were all proceeding the information.

"So, you are not under cover or something" Javi was raising his eyebrows.

"Undercover? I'm an accountant."

"And you decided to intervene in a fight between two armed men" Beckett's voice was still soft but her eyes were questioning the girl.

"Its not the wisest thing but I have a little problem with doing things before thinking for the consequences. I understand the risk now and I'm even more terrified by the driving part but…" she lowered her gaze.

"And you started the car with the cables?" Javi seemed really surprised.

"Huh, a friend showed me how. He just wanted to impress me. And I would never…I mean it was an emergency, so…"

"I am very thankful for your courage because I was really thinking that I was on the highroad to hell" Ryan's little joke seemed to break the tension and they all laughed.

After finishing all the paperwork and some jokes on Ryan's experience they were all heading home. Emily was sitting next to Ryan's desk, still covered with a blanked with a another cup of tea in her hands, happily questioning Castle about his writing. She was a fan of Mystery novels and of Castle's work of course and she found herself invited to his upcoming Dinner Party.

"If you feel better I will drive you home." Ryan seemed exhausted.

"I'm ok now and I don't want to cause you any trouble so…"

"Please that is the least that I can do."

"No, thank you I…"

At this point Ryan was already holding her by the arm and was heading for the elevator not fully understanding why she resisted so much a ride home. That cleared out when they reached the address- an old and seemingly abandoned building. She wanted to thank him and enter alone but Ryan didn't give her the chance. Inside it was even worse- the heavy smell of marijuana and garbage in the corridors, no lights, strange noises behind half broken doors. Emily seemed way out of place here with her tidy clothes and her delicate features. They reached her so called apartment at the second floor in silence. The door was closed but not locked. There was no point in that. As she entered the apartment she tried to thank Ryan and say goodbye but he entered the poorly furnished room and closed the door.

"Gather your most important things, we will come for the other tomorrow."

"But why"her green eyes where full of surprise.

"There is no way that I leave you here."

"Thank you but it's not so bad. At night I just pull this chest to block the door and it's fine."

He could see the scratch marks on the floor.

"Gather your things, now" something in his voice made her just turn around and put some small objects, some clothes and a laptop that was hidden behind the bed table in a bag and follow him without further protest. They traveled in silence to his apartment and Ryan's mind was empty after the so close encounter with death and the long hours without any rest. He only felt the growing pain in his head.

"This is my apartment" Ryan left his keys in the bowl on the little table next to the door. This is the guest room, you have a separate bathroom and you will stay as long as we find some other solution."

Emily left her things on the bed still silent and lowering her eyes.

"Look I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or something but it was impossible to leave you there and…"

"It is very kind of you" she still eyed her shoes.

"Please feel at home and we will talk tomorrow, now my head is just killing me."

As Ryan led her to show her the kitchen he just realized how different the apartment looked after Jenny left. It was messy, with clothes and empty boxes from the take-away food everywhere. He has also changed- without any direction his whole life was one big mess. He pretended to be ok at the precinct and tried to look decent at least at work but he could feel that everything was slowly but doubtlessly falling apart.

"Are you hungry?"

"No, good night" with these words she turned around and disappeared in the guestroom. Ryan open the fridge as he was starving but after one look inside decided that 2 Advils are all he needed right now. After locking his retrieved gun he just collapsed on his bed not having the forces to shower or undress.


	2. Chapter 2

**As the rain is pouring outside my story goes by. **

**If not under the flood tomorrow, shall update soon ;) **

**Hope you enjoy reading my little daydreams.**

After switching off the alarm on his phone detective Ryan needed a few minutes to clear his thoughts. His head was still in pain and after a long night of violent nightmares he felt exhausted. The hot shower helped him process once again the events from last night. At the light of the day he was not sure how he ended up with the idea of Emily staying at his apartment. But that was the right thing to do. She hasn't hesitated when he was in a desperate need for help. She was the reason he was still alive. And it was just yesterday morning when he woke up from a terrible hangover and taught that he had reached the bottom. No, apparently things could get more complicated. He would ask Castle for help. Castle would know what to do. If Jenny was Castle's wife she would have stayed. Castle was every woman's dream. And he, Kevin Ryan, was such a cliché. A divorced police detective in his thirties. No family, dead bodies and dirty police business every day. Yeah, he would definitely die alone.

In the kitchen the coffee was ready, there were also milk and bagels on the kitchen counter. Emily was really caught up in some article in the "Times".

"Good morning" Ryan poured himself a cup of coffee "You shouldn't have…"

"Please, it's the least I could do. It's the first time in weeks that I actually slept without any fear."

"How did you end up there, if you are ready you can tell me" Ryan sat opposite her on the kitchen table savoring a still hot bagel and a cup of really good coffee.

"It's simple, my mother died six months ago from cancer. I sold everything we had first with the hope to save her and then I just wanted to make her last days as good as they could be."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. I couldn't afford the mortgage of the house anymore so I moved in a small apartment near my workplace. It was not a problem until 2 months ago when our department was closed and everyone got fired. Since I didn't have much savings at that moment and my job applications got rejected more than once and week ago all that I could afford was the artistic apartment that you saw yesterday"

"Didn't you have any family or friends to go to?"

"It was just me and my mother. And the times are difficult for pretty much everyone, so I didn't want to cause any trouble…..What?" She saw that detective Ryan was staring at her.

"So first you decide that's a good idea to live among criminals and junkies and then you intervene in a shooting scene? Don't you have any sense of self-preservation?"

"Life is what it is. My father died when I was 5 from heart attack. He was only 32. And my mother died at 47 from cancer. I guess that I believe people can't escape from their destiny, so why run at all. And if you can help someone along your way, just do it."

Emily seemed completely peaceful with her life. Like a philosopher thinking on the meaning of life. Of someone else's life.

"Detective, if you have changed your mind, it's not a problem. I can take care of myself. I should have searched for a waitress job or something temporary long time ago."

"Yep, go back there so that you could be my next case tomorrow, huh. And moreover I owe you my life."

"I will be very grateful to stay here until I'm back on my feet again as long as you don't bring every day the saving-your-life part. And maybe I can help you with the housework. I mean if you want me to. If you prefer this new-chic-bohemian-hobo style in interior design…"

Ryan finally smiled "It's a deal. And you better prepare your CV. We will ask here and there for some job."

"You are not afraid that I will still something and run away?"

"If you find something worth stealing here, please call me." He made a mental note that listening someone with bigger issues than him and looking with sarcasm at his own situation did made him feel better this morning. The nice coffee and the beagles helped too.

"Do you have some useful remarks concerning the housekeeping?"

"Yeah, I am not good at it. I was, but lately I had so much work and…"

"No, I mean if you want me to stay away from a room or a closet, if you have some things that you don't want to be touched or moved."

Ryan looked around at the debris of his marriage and took a deep breath. It was time to put his life in order. Or let someone else create new order. There were people out there that had survived much worse. He met them every day. "Do whatever you want here. Or don't. You are not my cleaning lady although some cleaning would be nice."

"We have an agreement, and detective may I ask you something? It's not my business but…"

Ryan's was waiting for this all morning. The questions about his disastrous personal life. "Please, you can call me Kevin."

"Kevin…do you have a lot of allergies?"

That was an unexpected question "Yes."

"I'm sorry but I think that all the dust here is killing you slowly. Your eyes are red and puffy, you don't breathe rhythmically. You better take something or go to a doctor."

That is how pathetic he was. He had to wait someone else to remind him to take something anti allergenic to remove the severe headache and the other symptoms. He became helpless in his grief over his failed marriage. No wonder that Jenny left him. "Yes, of course, it's a good idea."

After the lifesaving pills he finally headed for the precinct thinking about the mockeries of his colleagues of him ending up with Emily in his apartment. At least she seemed pretty determined to clean it, so it was worth it.


End file.
