Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me, but my birthday's coming up if anyone wants to give them to me for good…

Chapter Two

There was that beeping again. A slow, steady, increasingly irritating beeping. Thinking it was an alarm clock, Castle reached out his hand to hit snooze. He was so tired and it just kept beeping! He waved his arm around again, but seemed unable to find the bedside table. Groaning he slowly opened his eyes, shocked by the bright fluorescents. He wasn't in his bed. He looked around, confused. His mind felt fuzzy and he couldn't figure out where he was. He realized that he hurt, that everything hurt. The light was too bright, and his head hurt, and his body ached. Castle suddenly became aware of a body curled up next to his, sleeping pressed firmly against his side. "Kate?" he groaned, finding it hard to even say the word. The body next to him stiffened suddenly, sitting up immediately in the bed.

"Dad!?" his daughter said with concern, her voiced tinged with anxiety.

"Alexis," he stated, finding himself suddenly exhausted by the exertion of saying her name.

"Oh Dad! I'm so glad you're awake," his daughter continued.

"What...?" he whispered. He tried to continue but grimaced in pain instead. God it hurt! Alexis gazed at him with concern and as he met her eyes he tried to remove the look of pain from his face.

She clearly wasn't buying it as she scrunched up her nose and told him she'd call for the nurse. She hurriedly pushed the buzzer by the bed before turning back to face him, "What do you remember?"

He shook his head; he really couldn't remember much of anything. He realized suddenly that he must be in a hospital…that something bad must have happened.

Alexis continued, "Dad! A car hit you! I don't know why, but you were walking by the highway and I guess the driver just lost control of his car and hit you. He actually stayed though and called 911. Do you know how lucky you are? He could have just left you there!" Alexis suddenly lost it and began sobbing, tears running down her face.

He wanted to comfort her, to reach out and hold her, but he hurt so much he knew he couldn't even lift his arm.

Luckily the nurse entered the room, "Ah Mr. Castle, I see you're awake" she said jovially.

He just looked at her, even through his pain inwardly wishing that she wouldn't state the obvious. It was ridiculous. Clearly he was awake. In his normal state he would have made some witty comment or at least rolled his eyes at Kate, but he knew right now he couldn't do anything.

"Kate!" he moaned loudly, suddenly worried about where she was. Was she okay? Had she been hurt too? He couldn't remember. The nurse ignored him, clearly used to difficult patients, although Alexis gave him a look of concern as she dried her tears.

"Okay," the nurse said, as though speaking to a young child, "I've given you a dose of pain meds, you'll feel better in just a minute". Turning to address Alexis she continued, "Your father will probably fall asleep in a few minutes, I've given him a pretty high dose because of the extent of his injuries. He should sleep until morning. I'd highly recommend you go home and do the same. You can see him again first thing in the morning".

Alexis glanced down at her father, who had fallen asleep in the amount of time it had taken the nurse to explain all of this to her. "You're sure he'll be okay while I'm gone? I mean, you'll call me if there are any changes?"

The nurse nodded reassuring, "Of course we will. And the doctor will examine him again in the morning. He's pretty badly hurt, but it's not life-threatening. Right now the best thing you can do is let him get some sleep".

"Okay..." Alexis said hesitantly. She got out of the bed and leaned over to gently kiss her father goodnight. Leaving the room, glancing back to check on him one last time, she followed the nurse into the hallway. "I'll be back first thing in the morning" she promised.

"See you then!" responded the nurse, seemingly cheerful about everything.

Beckett grunted in annoyance as the morning light hit her face. Rolling over in bed she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Five am. Counting backward quickly she realized she'd gotten about four hours of sleep. She groaned again and sat up quickly, turning off the alarm that was due to go off in five minutes time. "What is wrong with me?" she mentally asked herself as she clambered out of the bed and headed toward the bathroom. Was she really that hung up on Castle that she couldn't even get a decent night's sleep? Not, she admitted to herself, that she'd ever been very good at sleeping anyway. But normally when she was stressed out with a case the adrenaline carried her through. Now there wasn't any adrenaline, just disappointment and…more disappointment. She was annoyed at Castle, but she was also annoyed at herself. As she climbed into her shower, letting the hot water hit her in the face, she tried to snap out of the mood she was in. Kate knew that she'd see Castle later that day, and she knew that mooning over him wasn't going to help the situation. She was strong, she knew that, she prided herself on it, and she'd just have to use that strength to get through the day.

As the water began to get cold Kate realized that she'd probably been in the shower for far too long. She abruptly turned off the water and got out, pausing in front of her mirror to wipe the condensation away. She looked at herself and said, "Focus. You have a case to work on. Just focus on the case".

Meanwhile, Alexis was hastily walking down the hospital corridor. She'd managed to get a little sleep but she was still worried about her dad. Going back to the loft alone had made her realize how much she needed him around. Her grandmother was away in the Catskills, working on some play or another, and Alexis wasn't sure how quickly she'd be able to get back into the city. She'd called Martha and told her what had happened, explaining that the doctors said her dad's condition wasn't too serious and promising to update her after they met with them again in the morning. And now morning was here!

Alexis barreled into her dad's room, running up to his bedside to stare down at him. Somehow, if it was even possible, he looked worse today. He was sleeping on his back, his mouth slightly open, which only accentuated the bruises that covered his face. Alexis reached up and gingerly traced the stitches on his scalp. They'd shaved part of his head, and she smiled for the first time that day, realizing how upset her dad would be when he noticed.

"Alexis?" Castle whispered his voice still hoarse.

"Hey Dad!" Alexis tried to put on a happy voice.

"Hey yourself," Castle grimaced as he tried to sit up in the bed.

"Take it easy, Mr. Castle" ordered the nurse as she entered the room pushing a cart.

"What…what exactly happened?" Castle looked confused again, "I know I was here yesterday, but I can't really…remember…how I got here".

"You got in an accident Dad!" Alexis interrupted.

"Yes," Castle smiled though it was quickly followed by another grimace, "I had managed to deduce that by myself".

"You were in a car accident," the nurse clarified.

"I was in a car accident?" Castle repeated, unable to remember being hit while driving his car.

The nurse continued, "Technically a car hit you".

"That is so typical," Castle sighed.

"Yeah Dad," Alexis grinned this time, "only you would be able to get in a car accident when you weren't even in a car".

"So," Esposito continued, gesturing toward the murder board, "the DNA on the cigarettes came back and the guy definitely has a record".

"A looong record," interjected Ryan.

"A sealed juvie record, plus more recent arrests for a bunch of B and Es," Esposito glanced at Beckett as he clarified.

She was staring at the murder board, but he had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't really listening to him. She kept glancing sideways at the chair where Castle normally sat.

Esposito tried to get her attention, "Beckett?"

"Hmm?" She looked up, and quickly snapped to attention, "That's great Espo, good work, and you too Ryan".

"Thanks boss," Ryan grinned, but as Beckett glanced away again he raised an eyebrow at Esposito, clearly also noticing how distracted Kate had been all morning.

"So," Esposito cleared his throat, "Where is Castle this morning?"

Ryan chuckled, "Probably off gallivanting with that hot chick he was with the other day".

Beckett startled, her eyes quickly focusing on Ryan's face, before she just as quickly looked away. "I need coffee," she muttered, stalking away toward the break room.

"Really dude?" Esposito glared at Ryan.

The doctor glanced down at Richard Castle, shaking his head slightly. He had a sneaking suspicion that this was going to be a difficult patient.

So far Castle had adamantly refused all pain medication, despite the fact that he couldn't open his mouth without grimacing. He wanted to know what was going on and the pain meds dulled his senses and lulled him into a relaxed state that he felt was not at all helpful. The pain was intense, but he hated not knowing what was going on. He hated not being in the loop. It was just like when he was working a murder case with Beckett and she refused to—

"Beckett!" he suddenly yelped, interrupting the doctor who had been in the middle of explaining that Castle might well need surgery.

The doctor groaned inwardly, mainly because he had rounds to get to and he'd just realized that if his patient hadn't been listening he'd have to start all over again. It was difficult to get consent for a surgery when the patient wasn't aware that surgery was on the table.

"Mr. Castle", he glared at the man lying on the bed in front of him.

Castle was overwhelmed by the memories that were coming back. Memories of Kate ignoring his feelings for her, memories of his own love for her, memories of the loss that he had just remembered…he swallowed hard, willing himself not to burst into tears in front of the doctor. Drawing his last ounce of strength he turned his attention back toward the doctor.

"I'm sorry," Castle actually did look apologetic, "I wasn't listening before. Could you start over?"

Sighing, the doctor began again, "You're actually fairly lucky…"

Castle didn't feel very lucky. Didn't the doctor know that everything hurt?

"…the car was travelling at a high speed, but it clipped you instead of hitting you straight on".

Castle stared down at the bruises on his arms, suddenly realizing how narrowly he'd escaped. If this was what it felt like to be clipped by a car, he couldn't imagine the pain of really being hit by one.

"As you're probably figured out by now, you're badly bruised and your left arm is broken".

Castle attempted to nod in agreement, cutting the movement short as a shooting pain shot up his neck.

"We stitched you up in a couple of places, but our biggest concern right now is actually your spleen. We used to remove them immediately if they appeared damaged, but now we tend to wait and see if the bleeding will stop on it's own before we do surgery. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen here. We're going to have to do the surgery".

He paused, making sure that Castle had heard the information the second time around.

Castle groaned inwardly. He was already in so much pain he really couldn't even fathom letting them cut him open to remove an organ! He knew he was being a baby about this all, but he just wanted the pain to go away. He just wanted Beckett! Swallowing deeply, trying to get his breathing under control, he focused on the sharp pain in his ribs instead of the emotional pain that was rolling over him.

"We'll do the surgery in about an hour," the doctor stated, with a definitiveness that let Castle know it wasn't an option.

As the doctor stepped out of the room he greeted Alexis in the hallway, "Your father is going to need surgery to remove his spleen. It's a laparoscopic surgery though so that means—"

"I know what it means," Alexis interrupted, "I mean," she continued, slightly embarrassed at her rudeness, "I volunteer with a medical examiner so I know what a laparoscopic surgery is…it's minimally invasive, right?"

"Right," the doctor nodded, "it's fairly routine so your dad should be just fine".

"Thanks," Alexis nodded at the doctor as she turned to enter her dad's hospital room.

Beckett stared at the coffee in her hands, hastily blinking away tears. She'd gone to the break room because she needed to get away from the precinct's gazing eyes and her own team's innuendo. She knew it was all said in jest, but she was having trouble dealing with it all today. But she'd forgotten that the only reason to go into the break room was to get coffee. Since coffee was something that Castle typically brought her each morning, the warm cup in her hand only served to remind her that he wasn't there.

Where was he? She felt a sudden flash of annoyance. He didn't even have the decency to call and say he wasn't coming in? He always came in when they had an open homicide; didn't he know that they'd all be worried? No, she had to admit to herself, didn't he know that she'd be worried?

Growing increasingly irritated she yanked her cell phone out of her pant pocket. She didn't have any missed calls or texts. She paused for a moment, her finger hovering over speed dial. To hell with it, she wasn't going to call him whining like some lovesick teenager!

Beckett stuffed her phone back into her pocket as she stalked out of the break room and back toward her desk.

"Alexis!" Castle shrieked as she entered his hospital room.

Alexis approached his bed, wondering why her dad suddenly seemed so happy. He'd seemed pretty downtrodden since he'd entered the hospital. Just then her eye caught the nurse in the corner of the room. Alexis laughed softly as she looked down at her father.

He'd finally let the nurse give him some pain meds, and he was feeling pretty good if he did say so himself. He grinned wildly at Alexis. "Did you hear?!" he asked her, suddenly thrilled beyond belief. "I get to have sur-ger-y!"

Alexis just shook her head. Glancing down at her father she thought to herself, "Is it weird that this behavior seems completely normal to me?"

AN: Thanks for the reviews! Nedra1212 I agree cliff hangers are irritating, but sadly impossible to avoid :)