A Trip to the ER
Danger Will Robinson, Danger – This story is based on Spoilers & speculation from the promo of Headhunters. If you are spree stay away! If not read on and enjoy. Next chapter should be up by early next week.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to Luv2sk87 for taking the time to help me get things right and also to my toughest critic, SLF, you watch the show with me every week and never laugh at my OCD.
Disclaimer: Castle belongs to Andrew Marlow and ABC, the only thing I own is this story.
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Chapter One
"Detective Beckett, NYPD, they brought in my partner…Richard Castle." A worried Kate demanded passing several people waiting in line and flashing her badge at the receptionist.
"Yes, he's in trauma 8. He's being evaluated now." The harried receptionist sighed as she got up and pulled her hospital I.D. out of her pocket. She slid it through the scanner on the wall next to the door blowing out a breath as it popped open. With a bored glance she pointed down the hallway, "trauma waiting is down the hall on the left."
"But I need to see him." The loud crack of the wooden doors hitting the wall turned Kate's head away from the woman.
"Sorry, the doctor will come talk to you as soon as he can." The clerk murmured turning around and walking back to her desk dismissing Beckett and moving on to the next person waiting to ask a question.
She took a deep breath, frowned, and then walked through. Striding rapidly down the hall, her mind kept replaying over and over Esposito's frantic phone call.
'Yo, Beckett, you need to get over to New York Presbyterian Hospital. That idiot got Castle hurt. I don't know how badly yet. No one will tell us anything.'
"Detective Beckett, whatever are you doing here?" Martha asked frowning at her.
"Esposito called and told me that Rick's been hurt."
"What do you care?" Alexis snipped as she stood up and walked over positioning herself between her Grandmother and Kate. Standing with her hands on her hips she glared at the detective.
"How can you ask me that? After all we've been through…he's my partner, of course I'm gonna be here." Stony faces stared back at her.
A puzzled look spread over her face as she ran a shaky hand over her eyes. "I don't understand what's going on." Kate said clearly frustrated and almost talking to herself. "It's like that bomb in Boyden Square, changed him. One minute he's Castle and the next he's playboy Rick again, flying to Vegas for the weekend, flaunting a blonde flight attendant at me, making snide comments about everything, and then all of a sudden he's shadowing another cop. Speaking of another cop, where is Slaughter? I have something to say to him."
"Looking for me girly?" The detective in question smirked, sauntering into the room.
"Yeah, I'm looking for you." Kate growled as she hurried over to him. "What the hell happened?"
"It was an easy job, nothing to it. All he had to do was distract the guy watching the door and then duck when my team moved in. He didn't." He shrugged his shoulders then reached over and patted the browncoat that covered his service revolver. "I didn't even have to pull out Vera. I don't know why you are getting so upset. It's just a scratch"
"Just a scratch you say…just a scratch that landed him in the emergency room. How could you? How could you send an unarmed, untrained civilian into a dangerous situation like that alone? He could have been killed!"
"Oh, come on Detective. Don't get your panties in a knot. He's gonna be fine. He'll be back to awesome in no time," Slaughter snorted with a shake of his head from side to side.
Beckett never heard anything past the panties line. "This is all your fault," Kate whispered as fire shot from her eyes. Then without warning, she drew back her fist and slammed it right in the face of that idiot Slaughter. He went down with a crash, landing on the end table and smashing it flat. Magazines went flying in the air like birds trying to get away from the commotion.
At the noise, Ryan and Esposito came running into the room. "Kate…Kate, stop. Not here. This isn't the place." Ryan looked between his angry boss and the stunned man on the floor.
Realizing she wasn't listening, Ryan took her by the wrist and attempted to pull her back. However, Kate was having none of it and jerked her hand loose, thrusting her finger into Slaughter's face as he struggled to get up off the floor. "That man means the world to me. Do you hear me? He's my partner. My. Partner! He is not expendable and I will not have you putting him in needless danger without a care to the consequences." Kate growled between clenched teeth.
"Kate, stop." Esposito pleaded. "Calm down"
No one was paying attention to Slaughter who now stood in front of Beckett again. "Look Detective, you need to take that finger out of my face." He sneered as he shoved her back away from him. "He's a big boy and doesn't need his work mama…"
Before he could say another word, Alexis came rushing from beside Kate and the melee began in earnest.
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In the hospital room across the hall, Castle set on a gurney holding an ice pack to his right eye and watched as the young resident stood carefully suturing the six inch laceration on his upper left arm. His ribs were hurting badly, the tight wrapping not really making it any better. He was feeling like a fool and deciding that maybe working with Slaughter had not been the smartest decision he had ever made. Perhaps, he thought sadly, his career with the NYPD was really coming to a close. It's just he missed Kate so much. He missed the boys. He missed his chair. He missed the spring that poked his ass in Beckett's squad car. Hell, he even missed Gates.
Just then, a loud crash sounded from outside of his exam room that was followed by the sound of loud voices. The doctor stopped what he was doing and looked up.
"What was that?" Castle asked.
"I don't know. Hector; find out what's going on."
"Yes, Doctor, I'll be right back."
It was about five minutes later that the door opened and the nurse scurried back into the room. He was shaking his head with a look of amazement on his face.
"I've seen everything now."
"What?" Castle squirmed.
"Well this really hot lady just punched out a big scary dude in the waiting room. Evidently, he told her not to get her panties in a knot and she didn't like it. Then these two guys… one reminds me of that pale skinny vampire dude from those chick movies and the other…an A Rod wannabe…well, they came running in and pulled her off him. He got up and sort of shoved the lady cop…"
Rick set up with a frown, "he did what?" The doctor pushed him back against the gurney working hard to get the suturing finished.
"I kid you not, Ann, the unit clerk said she saw it all. Just as I got out there, this young red head girl came charging from beside the lady and yelled that he should keep his nasty hands off her Dad's partner, he snickered, wrong move because her face turned redder than her hair and she kicked that scary dude right in the family jewels. Wham, back down on the floor he went. When he started to get up the hot lady pushed the young girl behind her and started yelling that he had better not lay a hand on her because this whole thing was his fault and he deserved whatever he got."
In Castle's drug addled state he was having a slight problem following everything Hector was saying. "Let me get this straight, there's a big, scary dude in the waiting room, who got punched in the face by a hot babe and kicked him in the balls by a red head?"
"Yeap, I missed the first punch but the kick, damndest thing I've ever seen. Man, we haven't had excitement like this on our unit…like ever. Last I saw, vampire dude was half sitting on the big guy who was on the floor again covered in magazines. He was holding his privates and cursing under his breath. Both of the women were crying and hugging. Some older lady had her arms around both of them and the hot one kept was saying; I'm sorry, this is all my fault, I love him but he hates me now, I'm too late. It's like an episode of Temptation Lane out there. I don't know who they were fighting over but…"
Before he could finish what he was going to say, the door popped open and Esposito poked his head in. "Hey Doc, can the ladies come in. Things are not going well out there. Hospital Security is not happy and that jackass can't keep his mouth shut. I think separating them and letting the girls see the idiot you got in here, will go a long way to calming things down."
"Sure, Dr. Benson just finished up, let me get this cleaned up and dressed then they can come right in." The nurse looked at Castle shrewdly, finally figuring out who really was the cause of all the excitement.
"Thanks." Esposito smiled at the nurse and then looked over at a pale Castle, his smile changing to a glare as he shook his head. "Bro…not cool…please try to be nice to Beckett or the beating you just got will pale in comparison to the one you get from me and my boy Ryan." He started out the door before stopping and turning back to his friend and letting out a sigh. "Glad you're okay."
"She loves me? Hector said that she said that." Castle said with a look of amazement on his face.
"I heard her with my own ears, swear to God." Hector said, his head bobbing up and down, quickly finishing dressing the laceration on his arm.
"Yeah and after the last three weeks I don't know why." Esposito frowned, standing by the door with his arms crossed across his chest.
"Sorry, I thought that…I mean she knew for almost a year and didn't say anything." Rick mumbled to himself.
"I don't know what you're rambling on about but I'm not the one you need to be saying sorry to." Javi said before turning and walking out of the exam room.
"Send them in and I will take care of it. I promise." Rick called after Espo.
