A.N. This idea was originally going to go in a completely different direction but I think it turned out pretty good regardless.

By the way, Josh and Kate have broken up before Montgomery's Funeral. Just to give it some context incase anyone asks.

Kate was lying motionless in her hospital bed, leads from machines coming off her beeping rhythmically around her. She tried to take deep breaths but it was like he had an anvil on her chest and every time she tried, she felt breathless and pain ripped through her chest and side as she flinched.

Her mind wandered to the cemetery, her speech, the shot still rung clear in her ears, and then the falling to the soft grass. And Castle... Her Castle, trying to sooth her while she could see the bewilderment in his eyes, the sheer and utter terror, holding her as she gasped for breath and her blood stained the ground and his hands.

And then it happened.

He said it.

"Don't leave me... Please. Kate, I love you. I love you, Kate." She felt a smile grace her face before her world when foggy and then faded to black.

Oh, how she wanted to return his declaration. How she fought to keep conscious so that she could tell him.

But then she saw someone she thought she'd never see again.

Her mother.

"Mom?" She questioned, blinking in utter disbelief.

"Hi Katie." She smiled back.

"Mom!" Kate whispered, running towards her and wrapping her arms firmly around her, inhaling her smell so deeply until she couldn't smell anymore. Her eyes filled with tears like the child she once was and cried into her mother's chest. Johanna gently stroked her hair, put her hands on her daughters shoulder and pushed her back to look at her grown little girl. But instead of pride and joy at the woman she had become, her face was full of sadness.

Kate looked down at herself only to find that she was in the same clothes she was when she was shot at the cemetery, blood stained clothes and all.

"Oh baby what happened?" Johanna asked.

"I was shot momma. Castle tried to save me but..."

"Oh, you mean that writer that follows you around like a puppy?" She mom smirked.

"How did you..."

"What? You didn't think that I would be watching over my little girl? Of course I would. And Katie..." Johanna took Kate's face into hands and looked right into her eyes, brushing away any lingering tears with her thumb.

"He loves you very much. You have to let him in. He's not going to wait around forever and trying to solve what happened to me will only push you two further away."

"But mom..."

"No buts Katie!" She said sternly. "Promise me you will stop. Promise me!"

"I promise." Kate replied, a lone tear running down her cheek.

"That's my girl." Johanna smiled, kissing her forehead before letting her to. "But you know Katie, you can't stay here."

Kate looked up at her mother with fear in her eyes.

"You have to go back, Katie. Your Dad needs you, Castle needs you, and your friends need you. You can't stay."

Kate's face dropped back into her mother's chest before she broke down in sobs again.

"But it's not fair!" She protested.

"I know it isn't, baby. But that's life. And you need to return to yours." Johanna told her, wrapping her arms tightly around her. "I love you so much baby. But we will see each other again. And hopefully next time, you will have lived your full life."

Kate nodded into her mother's chest.

"Promise me one more thing, Katie?" Kate looked up at her mother with such childlike eyes it stabbed Johanna in the heart to have to say goodbye. "Promise me you'll tell him."

Kate smiled and nodded, placing a delicate kiss on her mother's cheeks for the last time.

Kate opened her eyes and she was back in her room in the hospital, machines beeping all around her, someone groaning in pain on the other side of the room.

Kate looked around to try and get her bearings only for her eye to settle on the person waiting in the doorway with a smile on his face and a large vase of flowers in his hands. A weak smile made its way onto Kate's face as she softly said, "Hey Castle."

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked, slowly walking towards her beside. Carefully placing the vase on her bedside table, he took the seat beside her.

"We lost you a few times, you know." He whispered, emotion thick in his voice.

"I know. I almost didn't come back. But I was convinced to."

"What do you mean?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

"I saw her, Castle. I saw my Mom. She told me I had to go back. She made me promise to do something." Kate smiled at the memory while her heart started to flutter somewhat painfully in her chest as she prepared herself to tell him. Castle knew something was wrong when he heard the heart monitor machine accelerate in pace.

"Kate, are you ok? Do you want me to call the doctor?" Castle asked, getting up to press the call button, but Kate grabbed his wrist firmly, encouraging him to sit back down.

"Castle, she made me promise that I let her murder go because it would drive us apart." She told him.

"What do you mean?" Castle asked, his nerves growing with the direction of this conversation.

"Rick, I heard you." She told him, giving his hand a light squeeze. Castle's cheeks reddened in response and waited for her to tell him what she would do with this information.

"And I love you too." She whispered on a smile. Castle looked up in shock.

"You do?"

"I do, Rick." She smiled, her heart monitor beeping erratically. Castle smiled and stood up out of his seat and carefully leant over her and placed a delicate kiss on her lips. Although they both wanted more, they both knew that they were in no position to do so because of Kate's recovery and because they had other issues that they had to deal with.

When Castle pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers, a hug smiles on both their faces.

"I think we should stop now." Castle whispered, turning his head to look at Kate's heart monitor beeping wildly.

As if on cue, Kate's attending doctor spontaneously walked into the room and checked Kate's heart monitor readings. The new couple froze as they came face to face than none other than Kate's ex-boyfriend, Dr. Josh Davidson

"Your heart rate seems to be rather accelerated. How are you feeling?" Asked Josh, trying his hardest to ignore the situation he just walked in on.

"My chest hurts a bit and I can't take a deep breath properly." Kate replied truthfully, Castle slowly slinking back into his chair beside her, her hand still clutched in his.

"Well, I can give you some medication for the pain and I can put you on some oxygen so that you don't need to such take deep breaths. I don't expect you to be able to do so after just having surgery. You will need some intensive physical therapy to be able to get back to your peak physical condition." Josh informed her. "I do however suggest that you try and keep your excitement and physical activity down to avoid any further damage to your heart. Now I know you're not going to like this but you are going to be on be rest for a few months until you recover enough to be discharged." Kate let out a small sigh in frustration at the though of spending months here.

Josh moved behind her bed and retrieved a small nasal tube for oxygen, pulling it down, he gently placed the tubes into her nostrils wrapped the rest of the tubing behind her ears and down to sit at the base of her throat, where it then continued behind her bed and into the oxygen tank. Josh pulled the leaver open and Kate felt a rush of oxygen fly into her nose, taking her by surprise before she settled down and was able to breathe easy.

"I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes." Josh excused himself. Castle gently caressed her hand with his thumb; his hands still red from her blood, as he looked lovingly into her eyes.

"I'll be here every day. Visiting you, looking after you, kissing you." Castle punctuated the last comment with a wiggle of his eyebrows, making Kate smile at him and roll her eyes. "I'm serious Kate, I'll get you your own room and make you as comfortable as possible. I could even get a private doctor and then you can come and live at the loft while you recover and…"

"Castle, that's really sweet but you don't have to do that." Kate told him gently.

"But I want to." He insisted.

"I don't want you to end up living here, Rick." Kate told him. "Alexis needs you and I cant' take you away from her for selfish reasons."

"Regardless Kate, I want to be here for you for anything and everything. That's what partners are for."