An well hello Castle fandom! I have been wanting to write a story for Castle for some time but between school and nerves I haven't had the chance. But here it is ...

Disclamer : I do not own Castle. Nor the Holby City characters who I have borrowed for this fic. They don't have a main part and are merely here because I simply couldn't write a hospital scene without them.

Introduction

Darkness.

Darkness, deeper ,darker, more overpowering than she had ever felt before. She could hear his voice, softer, smoother, like silk. It was hovering in the distance fighting to pull her out of the enclosing force around her.

And suddenly she was falling, falling , falling ...

Her hands caught on the edge of a rooftop. Castle. She screamed. She struggled. Castle. But he didn't come. He didn't come and she fell...

She landed in a freezer. Coldness over took her. She spun desperate to find him but instead she came face to face with a tiger. A tiger that wasn't supposed to be there. A tiger that pounced.

Darkness. His voice still present. Whispering but desperate. Trying to save her.

She was standing on a podium, back in the graveyard. She knew what was coming this time, but her feet wouldn't move. She turned and twisted desperate to duck, to dive , to avoid the bullet that she knew was coming. But she was frozen. She braced herself for impact. Castle would try to save her. He always did. Always. But this time, he didn't.

Somewhere floating in the distance of a dark sea his voice called her again. The waves rose and crashed over her. She had to find him. She had to get out.

A small light appeared before her. Mocking her and dodging every attempt she made to grasp it. His voice called again , stronger this time, forcing her to push forward with every strength in her being until finally, she reached it.

Castle ran has hand gently through his wife's hair, leaving the palm against her cheek. "Come on Kate," he whispered, "you can do this come on."

It had become some what of a habit, a ritual. Castle would greet his wife, take his seat and plead that she wake up. Then he would sit back, her small hand in his, and tell her about his day.

The writer in him ensured that every detail fell from his lips, from what Amelia and James had for breakfast to how Melody had slept. He made sure to stop by at every spare moment, and brought their children in to see her every day -after school and nursery. Now , Saturday 6th of April, Castle was waiting for a call from Alexis who had taken the children out for their "siblings day".

They took it surprisingly well. Got their strength from their mother. James had cried the first time when his mum refused to open her eyes but since that traumatic day tears had been kept to a minimum. Well among the children away. Not including Melody but at six months old what more could he expect?

"Alexis is at the park with the other three," Castle informed his wife, "who knows what trouble Jame's will get into this time? Three years old and he's already giving his mum a run for her money. I'm kidding Rebel Bex."

He scanned Kate's face, analysing every inch as though instructed to memorise it. Not that he hadn't already.

Twitch.

"Kate?" Castle whispered, resuming his delicate caress of his wife's cheek, doing his best to keep all emotion at bay. Twitch. Her eyelids fluttered again.

He knew deep down that they shouldn't be too hopeful. He had learnt that the first time his wife opened her eyes only to shut them seconds later. This would be the third time in the month that she had been in a coma that something like this had happened.

But despite himself Castle bent forward and whispered into his wife's ear, "third times a charm Kate."

He gasped as her eyes blinked open.

If you had asked Richard Castle what the most terrifying moment in his life had been he would probably have struggled to give a straight answer. Being shot at, almost dying multiple times, watching the love of his life die, various kidnappings etc. But right at that very moment he was sure he had never been more scared in his life.

Kate locked eyes with him. Relief, confusion, shock, panic, flashed across her face. Before he could blink she began to choke and thrash around in the bed. Machines squealed, his heart plummeted, doctors rushed in and chaos ensued.

He felt himself being rushed out of the room, too shocked to do much in protest.

Time seemed to stand still. No Castle corrected. His world had stopped spinning, his every sense zoned in on the door that stood before him, blocking him from the love of his life. But everyone else's lives continued to go on. The clock persistently ticking on the wall behind him reminded him of that.

Hours seemed to pass but it could have been minutes before the door opened. A nurse, that Castle recognised as Colette, the kind smiled gentle woman who had read Castle's books to Kate when she had time, pushed her way into the room.

Castle rose from his seat and swallowed back the fear that was clawing to escape him as he whispered, "How is she?"

Kate's eyes snapped open. Her gaze immediately scanned the room in search of her partner but instead fell upon a young female. Without warning a tight coil wrapped around her chest trapping all air inside her.

The woman stepped forward and clasped Kate's hand in her own. "It's all right, you're in hospital, your partner's just outside, it's alright." The woman's calming voice and light grip on Kate's hand slowly began to untangle the coil inside her as she felt her breathing return to normal.

Now finally calm Kate pulled her hand out of the strangers grasp and took a good look at her for the first time.

An air of confidence surrounded the stranger, not overpowering and self centred, no but self confidence. Between this and her location Kate was prepared to bet a weeks wages that she was a doctor. But no scrubs, that was interesting, no stethoscope either.

That could only mean-

"Welcome back. I'm Doctor March, psychiatrist, and I just have a few questions to go through with you." Yup just what Kate thought.

"I apologise for the rude awakening but really the quicker I get this done the quicker I'll be out of your hair and your family can come in. Do you feel fit enough to start?"

Kate immediately liked the woman, surprisingly enough. She was straight to the point, direct and completely right. Kate had only been in the hospital for what she assumed to have been a couple of hours at most and already she wanted to leave. Get back to work. Or more importantly see Castle.

"Sure," Kate attempted to sit up a little straighter but failed miserably. Instead she waved her hand to tell Doctor March to start her mind probing.

"You will have to excuse me if some of these questions seem terribly simple but after an incident like yours we have to check for memory loss. Hence, why I asked your family to stay outside the room. If you have suffered some memory loss, no matter how small, it would, I'm sure you agree , be better for everyone if you know first before seeing them?" The doctor seemed to have lost her confidence now and with a quick glance over it was obvious that she hadn't been out of school for long. To put the woman at ease Kate smiled weakly in agreement .

This seemed to work as Doctor March clipped her pen, poised to begin. "What is your full name?" She asked.

Kate tightened her hold on the thin duvet covering her, unsure as to when she wrapped the material in her tight fists. "Katherine Houghton Beckett." She was shocked to find that she had to force every syllable .

A small crease appeared across the psychiatrists' brow as she took note. "Okay then Miss Beckett what age are you?"

Kate sighed, "Thirty three."

A deeper frown, more scribbling. Doctor March looked up and asked "What year is it?"

Kate rolled her eyes, "Monday the 22nd of February 2013." Every letter was still causing her some pain but she did her best to hide her grimace.

At this Doctor March turned and sat down on one of the four seats surrounding Kate's bed. "Last few question Miss Beckett." She promised. "What university did you attend?"

"Standford," Kate tried to calm the tightening in her chest at the look of worry on the fellow woman's face. What had she answered so wrongly?

Doctor March nodded. "And what is your occupation now?" She asked.

Kate couldn't keep the proudness from her voice, "A detective at the 12th precinct."

"Okay and final question. What is the last thing that you remember before waking up here?" Doctor March asked, her pen standing ready to take down every detail of Kate's answer.

Kate swallowed. "I had just got home from work with my partner Richard Castle. It had been a somewhat difficult day since , well you've probably heard about it in the news or read it my notes or something-"

"Please Miss Beckett for the record." The doctor interrupted as she crossed her legs and lent forward in her seat slightly.

"Well I was stuck standing on a bomb for hours ,what I guess must have been yesterday judging by the clock on the wall. Anyway I was fine, we were fine and home, safe..." Kate drifted off for a moment before taking a deep breathe and continuing, "But I started to feel dizzy. I hadn't eaten or drank anything all day and what with the stress and the standing. I fainted. Dehydration I suppose. Then I woke up here."

A sombre expression crossed Doctor March's face as she clipped her pen to her clipboard and placed it on the floor beside a newspaper. She froze for mere seconds her hand floating in the air before she picked up the paper and held it in her lap. It was only then that she met the detective's gaze. "There's no easy way to say this Miss Beckett but you have been in a coma for a month. And-"

The doctor was cut off by a shocked gasp from Kate, "What! I don't have a brain injury do I ?"

"You did have some swelling yes but it was dealt with and since then all of the scans have been clear. But," the young psychiatrist swallowed as she met the detectives terrified gaze, knowing she was only going to make her feel worse, "you do seem to have faced some significant memory loss."

"I don't understand I remember everything up to and including the accident!" Kate spluttered, her throat burning from the friction of each terrified letter rushing out.

"Yes," Doctor March breathed slowly and unfolded the newspaper still perched in her lap. "But the accident you speak of was not the incident that brought you here Miss Beckett."

At this she offered the paper to the older woman and sat back in the plastic seat.

Kate all but fainted as she took the paper in her shaking hands and read the date.

03/27/2021

I have done a lot of research but I am not a trained doctor as of yet (who knows what the future holds) anyway if I have made any mistakes please feel free to point them out. Reviews are more than welcome.