Author's note: I don't own Castle. The only profit being made is my own amusement (and hopefully yours!).
Simple Gifts
The day after she leaves the ICU, Kate's dad brings her a fluffy cotton robe because the sheets are too thin and she can't stay warm at night. Castle makes a joke about how it matches the wallpaper of her new hospital room. He's not as funny as he usually is, but Kate rewards him with a smile anyway.
Alexis comes with a box of interesting titles that she found at a used book sale at school. Kate starts spending most of her afternoons reading while Castle lounges in the armchair beside her bed, diligently typing away at the latest Nikki Heat adventure.
Martha brings her a DVD copy of all her appearances on Temptation Lane. After Martha leaves, Kate scoots over on her hospital bed so that she and Castle can both watch the episodes on his laptop. By the time Martha's character gets trapped in a cave with bears, Kate's eyes start to feel heavy. The next thing she knows, it's morning and Castle's still there, pressed against her back with his hand resting on her hipbone. She slips out of bed without waking him, and by the time she's done showering, Castle's back in his chair, typing. They don't talk about it.
Josh buys her a bouquet of red roses and a teddy bear dressed in a motorcycle helmet and leather jacket. When Castle's not around, he lifts up her hospital gown and traces the scar running across her belly with the pads of his fingers, promising her that he'll still find her beautiful, no matter what. When Castle is around, which is most of the time between eight in the morning and ten at night, Josh entertains them with gossip about the love lives of Kate's nurses and stories about the various objects recovered from the human body by the general surgery team.
Lanie gives Kate a makeup bag filled with eye shadows and lip glosses, and soon Kate starts feeling well enough to care about making herself presentable when she knows someone's going to stop by. One afternoon Lanie's expensive hairbrush can't unravel the knots and Kate grumbles in frustration. Without a word, Castle reaches out to her and starts to untangle the strands with his fingers. For the first few minutes, Kate thinks about Josh and about what almost happened in L.A. Eventually, she gives in to the little jolts of pleasure that come every time his hands accidentally touch the back of her neck.
Most of Kate's visitors bring her food. Esposito comes with Remy's Super Meal Deal. Ryan offers a tray of heart-shaped sugar cookies that he and Jenny baked together (Esposito pretends to gag when he hears this). From Will Sorenson, a dozen rainbow-sprinkled doughnuts and news that he'll be transferring to California in three weeks. From Maddy, a whole platter of gourmet dishes, rare steak and creamy clam pasta and a colorful vegetable stir-fry. Kate still feels queasy from the pain medication, so Castle ends up eating most of it—except for the lumpy-looking stew from Perlmutter, which he tricks Esposito and Ryan into sampling.
Tom Demming doesn't come to visit her, but he sends Esposito with a get-well card and a jersey with the name of his youth basketball team. This somehow inspires Castle to construct a hoop out of IV tubing and to recruit Esposito and Ryan into a game of HORSE using crumpled-up patient consent forms.
Castle never brings her anything during the time she's in the hospital, no balloons or bouquets, no tokens or treats, but he brings himself, and it's always more than enough.
FIN.