***If you haven't read Bated Breath, this won't make any sense, so jump over there, check it out, then come back and join us.***

For those who are ready to continue, I'll just remind you of a few things:

-This is AU. Caskett got together as a result of Linchpin/Pandora, not Always

-Bated Breath was written before we knew the identity of both the dragon and Castle's father so those were OCs. (West and Sutton, respectively)

- I have changed the date in the BB epilogue to 2016 rather than 2017. It fit my timeline for this better and since this is fanfiction and not a NY Times Best Seller, I can bend time and space at will, much like Q minus any cosmic consequences. (The story hasn't even started and I've pulled in a sci-fi reference. I'm such a nerd!)

Room To Breathe picks up after BB chapter 63. The first part will be the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Then there will be time jumps, both in the story and in real life as I get myself organized. Just like BB, there will be a case and a lot of relational issues packed into this story.

Unlike BB, I will not be posting at a manic pace so you'll have to bear with me.

Thanks to Deb, my beta buddy. She catches my mistakes but I often add or rework passages right before I post so if you see a mistake, it's mine alone and should in no way lessen your opinion of Deb's grammatical prowess.

I don't own anything Castle except iTunes downloads of Seasons 1-5 and a notebook with a "Writer" vest cover. It's awesome.

Room to Breathe

Chapter 1

May 18, 2013

They were in the process of mending.

All that had shattered in their lives was being put to rights with more than a few surgical plates and screws.

Daniel Sutton had been improving physically, but not as quickly as his son. The older man had the incentive of a newly rekindled romance to spur him in his efforts, but overcoming an injury that damaged not just bone but also muscle and ligaments took time. While Sutton was fit for his age, he was no longer young enough to bounce back without a great deal of effort. He impressed the staff of Oasis Rehabilitation and Spa Center daily, but his exertion made for short days as his body needed extra rest to recover.

While Castle was in residence he had a room near his father so they could visit easily. The 'facility' was much more like a five star resort than the clinical, no frills environment that a government employee could normally expect. Sutton had not been willing to let Rick foot the bill for such a place initially, but when Mayor Weldon came by the hospital to visit Rick he asked if there was anything he could do for him. Castle explained the situation and asked if there was any external way for the CIA "health insurance" to cover the extra expense for the nicer facility. Soon after Sutton received notice from his CIA superior that he was not only to receive recognition for his actions, but that his recovery at any facility would be fully covered by the Agency.

He suspected that 'The Agency' amounted to his son funneling his own money through it, but he had been too tired to fight him over it, not when Richard wanted to spend time with him.

The days were structured. The long physical therapy sessions were followed by massages, at the integrated spa. Often those became couples' massages, which Castle insisted Kate needed since she had been under a lot of stress and he couldn't work the knots out of her shoulders himself. She relented easily. She hadn't married Richard Castle for his wealth, but she had come to a point where she no longer felt guilty about letting him pamper her with it on occasion.

At first both men were still so compromised that they were too exhausted to sustain long conversations. They spent some recovery time over Stargate episodes and talking mostly about cases and missions. As they grew stronger they graduated to cards and checkers and a little more information was shared each day about their separate lives. Neither had regained the mental stamina for a chess match, but they were evenly matched in most everything they attempted.

It had been ten days since the shooting.

Kate had spent more time at what she referred to as 'the resort' than the precinct. She was still on a Gates-imposed leave officially, but unofficially she tried to keep tabs on the proceedings through Ryan and Esposito. She realized that even a year before if she had been in this situation she would have been living at the precinct and visiting Castle rather than living at the resort with him and visiting the precinct. Seeing her quest for justice come to fruition was gratifying, but she was much more relieved than obsessed in the aftermath. The fact that she had stepped back and trusted others to handle what had been her all-consuming obsession clearly showed that her heart resided elsewhere.

Ryan and Esposito were relentless in their efforts to arm the DA with enough evidence to convict Thomas West of everything from racketeering to several charges of murder one. Cole Maddox and former judge, Robert Markway, among others were certain to fall in his wake.

Each charge had to be justified independently and each investigation seemed to turn up more charges. While Kate was eager to see a jury convict West and throw away the key she was thankful that between the boys and Gates, they would take the time to make sure there was an airtight case against him. They were doing the groundwork, but she reasoned that there would be plenty for her to contribute in the coming months.

Unfortunately, the police weren't the only ones digging. The media was having a field day with the combined scandals of a long time US Senator's arrest in conjunction with a celebrity's shooting. Kate had never been comfortable with the odd paparazzi ambush, but network media mixed with the entire spectrum of journalists had made going anywhere a nightmare. The only responses she ever gave were "I can't comment on an ongoing investigation" and "All personal statements will be issued by press release through Black Pawn Publishing."

Kate had to admit that although Gina and Paula could be pushy, that assertiveness came in handy when they needed protection from the public eye. She thought back to their first visit when Castle was in the hospital.

Paula gushed over an unconscious Rick, and gently patted his lax hand while Gina walked in the room, paled, then pivoted and stepped out. Kate waited a few moments then excused herself, not that Paula took much notice.

Kate had never seen Gina look more human. She had her arms crossed against her stomach and was leaning against the wall, just staring blankly at the ground.

Kate leaned on the wall next to her and said, "He's been awake a few times and they say he'll make a full recovery."

She nodded, trying to twist her expression to look much more confident than she felt. "I know. I just- I've never seen him look so helpless. I mean, he's Richard Castle, the guy nearly walks on water." She twitched a shoulder and glanced at Kate with a vulnerability that didn't suit her. It was the first time Gina openly admired Castle for more than a paycheck since he'd been with Kate.

"I know."

Kate didn't have it in her to give any more of a pep talk. She was exhausted, but the practical part of her mind knew they needed this woman to protect them and for once she hoped his publisher would put their wishes above the Nikki Heat bottom line.

"Listen, Gina, there's more than what you've heard, and we-" She thought better of the phrasing and amended, "Rick will need you to run interference for him."

Gossip always caught Gina's attention and she straightened and turned so she was facing Kate with her shoulder against the wall, "Of course."

Kate looked to make sure no one was in earshot. "The CIA agent who saved his life, Daniel Sutton, he's Rick's father."

Gina stared at her. "What!"

Kate placed a palm out to halt her response then continued, "There's a lot that's happened and I can't go into everything but stories are going to come out and I know you and Paula are going to need to know what's real and what's a rumor, and what we want you to confirm or deny."

"Yes, of course."

"Senator Thomas West was arrested yesterday for a long list of crimes, including hiring a hit man to kill my mother before she could uncover incriminating evidence against him. On the list is also putting a hit out on me when my investigation into her death got too close. Last week Daniel Sutton uncovered a lead. Castle put the pieces together and we discovered that the sniper whom West had hired to shoot me a few years ago is Judge Markway's son from an affair, Cole Maddox, and he's the same man who did this to Rick."

Kate had never seen Gina speechless. Finally after several brow rumpling moments she asked, "Wait . . . what?"

Kate repeated the curt summary of events.

"Listen, Gina, you know that everything I just told you about the case technically is a list of allegations so none of it can be confirmed or denied officially. As for Sutton, he's in critical condition in the ICU and the last thing Castle needs is for the press to start running even fluff pieces when they've only known each other for less than a week and Sutton might not make it."

Gina stood and pulled herself back into publicist mode. "Okay, so right now the media is saying that a CIA agent was injured but as far as I know no connection has been made. If asked I'll just say that the identity of the agent has not yet been released. Of course it will come to light, those things always do and Rick will eventually need to do an interview."

Kate bristled and Gina extended a placating hand.

"Not right away, but eventually, and he'll have his pick of journalists and reporters. It should be done sooner rather than later if you want to trump the rumor mill. He is a public figure, Kate, and certain sacrifices go along with that."

Kate knew that all too well and didn't appreciate the condescension. She also begrudgingly knew that Gina was just doing her job and trying to give Kate realistic expectations.

"I know, I know. For now just issue a statement that Rick was wearing a vest, has several broken ribs and will recover."

"Of course. I'll add the usual filler about thanking the fans and asking for privacy, for what it's worth, but if you've looked outside you'll realize that asking for it and getting it will be two different things."

The two women walked back into the hospital room. Paula was holding Rick's hand and wiping at her eyes. Kate didn't know how much more crying the room could contain. Gina took a few steps towards the bed, reached out a tentative hand and gripped Castle's foot through the blanket just for a second then abruptly retracted it as though she couldn't bear the reality for any longer than that moment.

"Paula, we should go."

"Yeah, alright." She turned towards the patient, kissed his cheek and said, "Ricky, we'll be back, and you better be ready to talk to us by then."

Gina walked out. Paula lightly hugged Kate and air kissed her cheek. "Keep us posted." She assessed Kate up and down then added, "There are cameras down there, Honey. You might wanna . . ." She waved at Kate, not able to decide what to focus on – the detective's hair, crispy from the chlorinated water or her borrowed scrubs. "Oh, never mind."

During his afternoon down time, Kate escorted Castle to the common room, which featured a baby grand, a live pianist and posh chairs that would elevate to aid patients in sitting and standing. Castle was supposed to elevate them to half height and sit without help to build his muscles but it made him feel one step closer to assisted living. Kate refused to help lower him in any other chair so he found himself being slowly lowered by what he referred to as Robochair. A few minutes later Martha wheeled Daniel Sutton into the room; his leg extended. He looked much more human and felt more himself. After he was situated, Kate and Martha pulled a table over and grabbed four normal chairs to place around it. Before Castle could ask why there were four, Esposito and Ryan came in and joined them.

"Hey, Castle, you're not looking so bad. I thought you were still supposed to be an invalid or somethin'"

"He's definitely something," Kate confirmed.

It had only been a few days since the guys had been in last, but for Castle, every link to the outside world was welcome. For Sutton their presence allowed him a look at his son through their interactions. He couldn't have gotten far in the CIA without being hyper observant and while he felt that Richard had been remarkably open with him considering everything, the spy still had missed over 4 decades of his life and he was hungry for any scraps that were more than factual knowledge of him.

"Hey, I'm not an invalid!"

"Lookout, Ryan, I think he can take us."

"I'll have you know I buttoned my own shirt today."

Kate sucked in her lips to prevent words to the contrary from escaping. She was proud that he had managed to fasten one button, but as with all interactions in their longstanding bromance, the bravado factor pushed him to exaggerate. She patted Castle's knee instead and he relented and compromised closer to the truth.

"Okay, Three buttons, I did three buttons, but I'd like to see you try that basically one handed."

Ryan slapped his partner's arm with the back of his hand. "Hear that, Javi? Won't be long before Aquaman here will be putting us in our place." He smiled at Castle, and with a look relayed exactly how proud the detectives were of him. His heroics while getting Sutton out of the pool after being shot himself earned him the nickname. Castle loved it.

"Yeah, one of my goals for tomorrow, which my lead PT, Allie, wrote in very charming bubble letters, is to brush my teeth left handed. By next week I'm sure she'll have me doing jujitsu."

"That must be scheduled right after my kick boxing class." Sutton added.

Esposito leaned across the table and 'fed the birds' with Castle's father.

"Yeah, you put him in his place for us. We've been having to do it since Beckett here went soft and started to fall for the guy."

"What do you mean 'started to fall for me'? Beckett always loved me, didn't you, Darling." Castle batted his eyelashes at the syrupy moniker.

"Yes, Dear." She replied in kind. Then to the guys she added, "He's still on the good stuff."

"Hey, am not!"

"I am." Sutton piped up smugly.

Martha patted his shoulder. "As you should be. Since the two of you had to go and get yourselves perforated you might as well take the strongest stuff they offer."

"Mother, it's not like cocktail hour. And before you offer, the answer is 'no'. One should not wash Vicodin down with a Cosmopolitan."

"Martha, you told me it was doctor's orders!" Daniel smirked at her while playing along.

She replied to her son, "Oh, Darling, have I taught you nothing? Vicodin would certainly call for gin."

"Speaking of gin." Ryan pulled a deck of cards out of his back pocket. "The, uh, card game I mean. Who's up for poker?"

Castle held up his right hand as his mother's mouth opened.

"So help me, Mother, if the next sentence out of your mouth includes the word 'strip.'"

She paused a beat then said, "I wouldn't dream of it. Carry on, Detective Ryan."

After a few minutes of scrounging they had enough toothpicks, coffee stirrers and sugar packets to make a game of it.

They went around the table with dealer's choice. At the end of the second round Ryan declared, "Five card draw, deuces, jacks, man with the axe. One toothpick to ante."

"Dude, why can't you just call a normal game like the rest of us?"

Kate added, "Yeah, Ryan half the cards are going to be wild."

Ryan started dealing the hand and replied, "Don't exaggerate, Beckett, only nine fifty-seconds of the cards will be wild. Anyway, it makes everyone feel like they're doing well. Don't you want the invalids to feel good about themselves while we mop the floor with them?"

"Oh, you are SO on." Castle replied as he threw a sugar packet at his friend.

By the end of the hand everyone else had folded except Ryan and Sutton, who kept upping the bid.

"Come on, Dad. You're representing perforated people worldwide. Our reputation and morale fall squarely on your shoulders."

Sutton stared Ryan down for a full minute before dramatically throwing in three sugar packets. Ryan gulped audibly then folded.

Sutton broke the intense expression with an easy smile and declared, "We're invalids, Detective Ryan, not morons. After all, what moron would win deuces, jacks, man with the axe with only two pair, six high?"

"What!" Groans rose from several corners.

"Gentlemen, I think you've been had." Martha added, "You better quit while he's only slightly ahead. Otherwise it could get ugly and I'd hate for you to have to tell your respective women that you lost your sugar packet farm to an old man in a wheelchair."

"Don't forget that I'm drugged. That will impress them even more."

"Yeah, yeah, we know when to cut our losses." Esposito conceded, realizing that Martha was actually announcing that it was time for them to go.

Ryan cleared up the cards and shook his head. "I knew Feds were arrogant but, wow. Now we know where you get it, Castle."

"Yeah, between Nature and Nurture here," Castle flicked his head at his father then mother respectively, "I didn't stand a chance. Good thing I have plenty to be arrogant about."

Kate patted his shoulder and placated, "Yes, Castle, you're lovely. Now say goodbye to your friends."

"Are you humoring me, Woman? I can't believe my own wife is turning on me."

"I can't believe you called Beckett, 'Woman' and you're still alive." Ryan mused.

He smugly bragged, "She knows her place."

Kate erupted with a "HA!" which completely negated any macho cred he thought he had.

"Yeah, Bro, and don't forget that 'her place' is the 12th and she packs heat."

Castle had to admit defeat, "Duly noted. Sorry, Sweetheart."

Kate rolled her eyes, "I think I liked 'Woman' better." He knew she liked 'Sweetheart', just not in front of company.

She leaned down to kiss his cheek and quietly asked, "You want to stay put 'til they're gone?"

He nodded slightly, not wanting to look like a live geriatric ad for Robochair in front of the guys. He turned his head and pecked her lips with a 'thanks' under his breath.

Martha, ever the hostess, started to stand but Kate motioned for her to stay, "I'll escort Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum out."

"I'm NOT Tweedle Dum" Ryan stated emphatically.

"I'm not Tweedle anything." Espo bit back.

As Kate walked with them to the lobby, all humor fell away.

"Sit rep, guys."

"Still getting evidence in order. These things take time. You know that, Beckett, and this has to be processed to the letter." Esposito reasoned.

She started shifting and looked away. "Montgomery?" They both waited for the other to answer. "Well?"

Ryan scratched the back of his neck and admitted, "They know his death's connected, and it's likely West will want to pull as many down with him as he can."

"But there's no proof that Montgomery was the shooter, right?"

"No." He hesitated then added, "Beckett, you know we won't have the case for long. Since a senator is getting tried, the lead's gonna to go higher than the lowly NYPD. Until then we'll do all we can."

Still dwelling on Montgomery, Kate asked, "What about Gates?"

Esposito answered, "She won't throw Montgomery under the bus. An IA detective started sniffing around and Gates acted like any connection was news to her. I didn't know she had it in her feign ignorance. Kate lifted her eyebrows, pleased but still agitated. "Kate, they don't have the gun that Montgomery used to off the undercover Fed, Armond, and no one is left alive to give an eyewitness account. Pulgatti, Ragland and McAllister are all dead. There's no way to prove who pulled the trigger."

Beckett worried, "What about West? He was the puppet master. He had to have known what went down on the botched job."

Ryan assured her, "Beckett, no matter what he says, unless he has documentation we don't know about that ties them together, there's just no evidence to back it up. It's all circumstantial when it comes to Montgomery."

She had been sifting the evidence in her mind enough to know what could be proven and what would remain a circumstantial allegation.

"Wait, what about the file? The one Montgomery sent to Smith? We have evidence that it was sold back to West by Smith's killer. If West produces it, Montgomery's prints would be all over it."

Esposito shook his head, "Listen, West is calculated and while there's damning evidence in there for Montgomery and the other players, most of it points back to him. My guess, is he burned it."

The moment of silence that followed was full of a desperate hope that Esposito was right.

Kate hooked her thumbs in her back pockets to keep her hands from fidgeting. She worried aloud, "I need to talk to Evelyn. I don't want her to find out from the news. This could pull their death benefits. Montgomery would have been dishonorably discharged at least, if they'd found him guilty of anything while he was alive, so I don't know what that will mean for them."

Esposito interpreted her tone and lack of eye contact correctly and gripped her shoulder. "Hey, Beckett, no matter what happens, it's not your fault, okay."

She blew out a breath but wouldn't look at him.

Knowing they would get nowhere in trying to douse Beckett's guilt, Ryan changed the topic,

"So, how's he doin'?" He tipped his chin towards the room they had just left.

"Better. It's more his pride that's suffering right now. The shattered ribs are going to take at least a few months to heal and then he'll have to work to get his strength back. The muscle damage is making even slight use of his left arm painful." Both men had noticed that he could only hold the cards while his arm was resting in his lap and he didn't even try to shuffle them, just pushed the deck towards Kate to deal for him.

"How's he doin' with 'Dad'?" Ryan used air quotes.

"First time Castle called him 'Dad' he was on heavy pain meds and it slipped out, but it's stuck. For now he's just relieved that everyone survived. So far Sutton's been a good distraction for him."

Esposito smirked, "Martha certainly seems distracted."

Kate replied, "Yeah, that part's creeping Castle out, but in a good way."

Esposito replied, "Oh, we know how it is. You want Mom and Dad to be together but having to watch Mom and Dad getting on?" He finished the thought with a shudder.

Kate narrowed her eyes at him then declared, "Okay, playtime's over, boys!"

"For us it is." Ryan smiled sweetly.

"OUT!" She gave him a push.

On their way out she heard Espo say, "Sheesh, why'd you have to get Mom so riled up?"

Kate watched them leave, feeling deeply how much she loved each of their 'kids.'

A/N: Reviews are all the motivation I need.