Title: Together We Will Rise
Author: KouenTaisa/WonderTwinC (Ched)
Rating: K
Pairing: Beckett/Castle
Status: 1/1
Category/Warnings: Nothing really
Spoilers: This is my take on the Canadian promo for "Countdown." Well, the aftermath.
Summary: He is only half awake when he asks for Kate, but she is the first thing on his mind as he struggles to open his eyes.
A/N: This is my sequel to I'm All Second Chances. And now it's three am and I am going to bed.
He is only half awake when he asks for Kate, but she is the first thing on his mind as he struggles to open his eyes. He hears his mother in the background, but he can't make out anything that she is saying. A familiar hand brushes the hair out of his face and Castle relaxes when he realizes that Alexis is there too. He drifts back off to sleep and when he wakes up once more he notices that he is no longer cold. It takes a moment for him to get his eyes open, but once he does everything falls into place. He is surrounded by four white walls and he comes to the conclusion that he is in a hospital before he even hears the steady beat of the heart monitor attached to his chest.
"How is she?" he asks without pause, glancing over at his daughter. His mother is gone from the room now, but Alexis is still there. She hesitates before giving him one of her beautiful smiles that is tinged with sadness. He knows the look well and it cut deeps.
"They managed to raise her body temperature, but she's not awake yet."
Castle takes that yet and holds onto it. He knows he has to see her, but right now he is still tired and without much warning he falls back into a deep sleep.
The next few days (or is it merely hours?) are filled with him waking up and drifting back off to sleep. His body still aches from the cold even though he is warm and he waits for news about Beckett. She is awake now, at least that's what he thinks Esposito told him the last time he himself was awake, but he doesn't really remember.
One night he just wakes up and she is there. Kate Beckett is sitting beside his hospital bed in a wheel chair and although she looks exhausted and worn she is still beautiful but most of all she is alive.
"Did I wake you?" she asks softly, giving him a tired smile. He tells her no, but he knows that he is so in tune to her presence that she probably is the reason he's awake. Neither of them says anything after that for a long time. They just sit there staring at each other with looks that neither of them wishes to analyze.
"I thought you died, Kate. I thought you died in my arms." he states softly as he looks away from her. Beckett sighs softly in response, because she knows that she almost did die today. He feels her fingers on his arm and he glances down at them silently. He can't really decipher the look on her face, but he's not sure that he really wants to so he doesn't look.
"I know, Castle." her voice is just as soft as his was. Castle lets out a deep breath as he remembers saying 'stay with me' and this time he looks up at her face. She offers him one of her smiles.
"I just wanted you to know how much I like you, okay Castle? I like you."
He flashes back to those last coherent moments of them being trapped in the freezer together and he mirrors her smile as he remembers.
"I like you too."
And for now, that's all either of them needs.