Ok. Wow. Ok. I was completely blown away by the positive response to the first story I posted. "Walk Me Through This One." This is the first chapter of the sequel, and I will have new chapters posted as quickly as time will allot me. I also want you to know that the details I use, the type of cancer, the treatment options, and Kate's thoughts and emotions are drawn largely from personal experience and/or research. Feel free to message me if you have questions, concerns...Again, thanks so much for reading.

Spoiler Warning: All episodes that have aired are free game for me, and although I tell myself I won't-I always wind up reading the damn spoilers. I will be sure to post warnings if I use any though...P.S. I've decided that for the time-being "Monday" will be re-named "Andrew Marlow's Angst Day". He brought it upon himself, he and his writers ;-)

Disclaimer: They're not mine. It's kind of good too. Afterall, I did give Beckett cancer, didn't I?

And I will Try to Fix You

"When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep.

Stuck in reverse…" Coldplay, Fix You

Beeping. Steady beeping is the first thing she noticed when she started to come around. The fog desperately tried to cling to her brain, as she made her best attempt to make sense of her surroundings.

Lilac. The sweet smell of her favorite flowers was the second thing she'd noticed. Before she'd even opened her eyes she could smell the scent of lilacs around her. It enveloped her and comforted her like an embrace.

Voices. There was muttering around her and she was trying to make sense of what the voices were saying. She turned her head toward the voices and let out a moan, trying to communicate to whomever was nearby.

"Kate?" somebody was calling her name, but she didn't recognize the voice.

The unfamiliar voice was closer now."Kate, can you hear me? Open your eyes Kate, open your eyes and take a breath."

That's an odd request, Kate thought to herself.

A gloved hand tilted her chin up and she opened her eyes. Dr. Kendall was standing by her bedside and was smiling softly at her. "Welcome back." He spoke.

"Did…" Kate tried to speak, but was immediately made aware of the discomfort in her throat. It burned when she tried to speak. She tried to clear it forcefully, as if she could ameliorate whatever it was making her throat hurt so badly. Kate attempted to speak again. "Did they get it?"

She looked to the doctor, waiting for him to answer her and update her on the success of the surgery.

Dr. Kendall smiled and nodded. "Yes Kate. We were able to remove all of the tumors. There didn't appear to be anymore spread or damage, which is great news. We are going to have to wait on the pathology labs to confirm that we were able to get clear margins on all sides of the tumors" The doctor squeezed her hand as Kate sighed and laid her head back on the pillow, trying to clear her throat again. She hoped beyond anything that they did, in fact, get clear margins. She knew it would be pointless to have gone in and removed the tumors if they'd left any part of them, even microscopic, behind to spread again.

"Kate, your throat is going to be sore for a couple of days, it is irritation from the breathing tube. You were under for quite a long period of time and we felt that intubating you would alleviate the stress on your lungs while you were so deep under anesthesia." At that time another voice spoke up.

"I picked up some lozenges when the doctor mentioned that you'd have a sore throat." Kate turned to the voice and saw Rick Castle sitting in the corner of the room quietly. She smiled softly to him and said "Lilacs," noting the smell of flowers in the room.

Rick nodded to her and smiled back, "While you were in recovery they went ahead and assigned you a room. We were allowed to come up here and wait for you. I may have added a few things to make it feel a little more comfortable for you."

"Richard Castle, that's why I love you." She softly spoke.

Rick was surprised by her statement, not because she told him that she loved him, but because she told him, yet again, in front of someone else. Although she was still very much under the influence of her medications, she was much more lucid than she was after her last admission. Rick chuckled softly to himself and recalled her first public statement of love…

Earlier that day:

He came into the hospital with her, keeping her clothing as she'd changed into the hospital gown. He'd kept her company as she laid herself down in the pre-operative room, offering her comfort and distraction as various doctors and nurses came through. Blood was drawn, IVs were inserted and vitals were taken. He joked softly with her about the fashion statement that her medical gown was making and noted that she looked sexy as hell even when wearing a paper bag. She laughed and was grateful for his company.

Her dad came by to wish her luck before the surgery as well, giving her hugs and kisses and reminding her how loved she was. The three talked for awhile, and Rick and her dad seemed to be hitting it off. Little did she know this was far from the first of their interactions. Soon the anesthesiologist came into the room, ready to place her epidural. The thought of having the needle placed into her back, her spine, terrified her.

"It would be best if just one person was here with you during this procedure Ms. Beckett." The doctor advised her. At that her dad quickly volunteered to step out, clasping his hands on Rick's shoulder and then moving to kiss Kate on her cheek. She found herself mildly surprised, but also very moved that her dad trusted Castle as much as he did.

She was instructed to sit up on the corner of the bed, and to wrap her arms around Rick's shoulders. She lay her head on his shoulder, took a deep breath and braced herself as the doctor started to clean and prepare her lower back. She'd heard the horror stories from friends who had used epidurals during childbirth, had heard that it was very painful. Her doctor squeezed her arm and spoke to her, "Kate. The good news about your having an epidural is that you're not in labor. There is no baby to protect, and you don't need to do any labor-related work, so we can numb you up before we place it. You'll feel a pinch and some pressure, but that's all." Kate let out a breath and Rick chuckled softly into her ear, not out of humor but of relief.

The whole situation struck Kate as odd, being held in this position by Castle as the doctor placed an epidural. She was glad there was no baby, but couldn't help but envision a situation in the not too distant future where they were in a similar spot because there was a child, their child, on it's way. She took a breath and smiled to herself, his sigh in her ear indicated to her that they were on the same wavelength.

With a pinch and quite a bit of pressure, the epidural was placed. She sat up for another minute while fluids were started into the tubing. No sooner than she was instructed to lay back down she felt the effects of the drugs. She felt light, wonderful. She felt free and there was no denying it…Kate was high. Rick smiled to her as she took his hand and sighed at him. "I love you Rick." She said to him. He smiled and answered, "I love you too."

The doctor exited the room and gave Kate's dad the ok to re-join his daughter. He walked up to her, taking her free hand and asked her how she was feeling. "I feel wonderful dad." She replied. "It's all going to be ok and soon I'll be out of surgery and everything will be wonderful again." Kate continued to ramble on, obviously happy with life.

"Hey dad?" Kate said. Her dad looked to her and waited for the rest of her question "Yes sweetheart?" he replied.

"Hey dad. I love Castle. I love him so much. He's my one and some day I'm going to marry him." Her dad looked to Rick with mild shock but mostly amusement.

"That's wonderful sweetie. Rick's a wonderful guy. I approve." He meaningfully looked to Castle, and then back down to his daughter.

She continued to talk "Yeah. He is wonderful. Last night we made love and it was so beautiful dad. It was so beautiful." She sighed to herself and looked lovingly to Castle.

To say that Rick looked like a deer in the headlights would be an understatement. He looked at Kate in utter shock and then to her dad, in complete terror.

Jim Beckett looked at Rick with a mix of amusement and something else that Rick couldn't quite identify, but it scared him… a lot. He then looked back to his daughter and replied, "That's wonderful sweetie."

"Yes it is." She agreed. "It was beautiful."

Richard Castle was never happier in his life to see a doctor as he was at that very moment. Dr. Kendall entered the room and the oncologist introduced himself to both Kate's dad and Rick. He then checked on Kate and let her know that they were ready to take her back for surgery. Kate's dad kissed his daughter on the cheek and squeezed her hand, telling her he'd be waiting for her and he'd see her in a few hours. He turned and left the room, obviously to give Rick a minute alone with her.

Castle took her hand and kissed the back of it. He then ran his other hand across her forehead and kissed her softly on the lips. "I love you Kate and I'll be waiting for you." She smiled at him and sighed heavily "I love you too Rick." He kissed her one more time on the lips and allowed the nurses to wheel her out of the room.

Castle made his way to the waiting room and took a seat next to Jim Beckett. Both men were silent for a minute, Rick too scared to talk and Jim enjoying the younger man's terror a little too much. With a smug expression on his face Jim finally spoke.

"So it was beautiful huh?" It was not a question, but a statement. As a father, he knew that details were not only NOT wanted, but would most likely result in bodily harm.

Richard Castle buried his head in his hands and wished more than anything that the floor would simply swallow him whole.