Chapter 2
It felt like she'd only just managed to get to sleep when she was woken up by the insistent ringing of her cell phone. It was too dark for it to be time to get up yet and that fact was confirmed when she glanced at her alarm clock. It was only three pm, she'd gotten exactly three hours of restless sleep.
She picked up her phone expecting it to be the station but there was a strange number flashing on the caller ID. If it wasn't work, then who the hell would be calling her at this time of the night?
"Hello, Beckett here."
"Hi Kate, I'm sorry to call you at this time," it was a hesitant female voice on the other line. The woman sounded vaguely familiar, but in her immediate post-sleep confusion she couldn't quite put a name to the voice. "It's Sarah, Josh's sister."
Oh right, the image of a tall, attractive, brunette sprung to mind. She'd met Sarah a few times before, and had found her to be a nice person, they'd gotten along well and shared an interest in bikes.
"That's ok Sarah. What's up?"
"I'm at the hospital, Josh has been in a traffic accident. I think you should come here, the doctor said it was pretty serious."
Beckett lay there stunned for a moment, after the way that Josh had left last night would he even want to see her there? How on earth was she meant to respond to this? Whether he wanted her there or not, she did care about him and if it was serious then she wanted to offer her support. "Ok give me the details and I'll meet you there."
She just threw on the first pieces of clothing that came to hand, and she was out the door in five minutes. At this time of the morning it was easy to find parking nearby the hospital and she rushed into the hospital only to be stopped short by the security guard. A hospital at night was a pretty locked down place, each ward required an electronic swipe card to even get in. Fortunately with a quick explanation and a flash of her badge she was escorted up to the ICU.
Sarah spotted Beckett first as she came up to the ICU waiting room and rushed over to give her a hug. "Thanks for getting here so quickly. I phoned my parents and they're driving down from Boston. I've been going stir crazy waiting for any news."
"What have they told you so far?" Beckett asked.
"His CT scan showed he had a liver laceration, multiple rib fractures and a subdural haematoma. They took him straight to the OR after the scan and he's still in surgery now, it's been over an hour. I don't know if that amount of time means that it's good news or bad news."
Beckett squeezed her hand, trying to convey her support as the two women sat anxiously awaiting any news. She had spent a lot of time in hospital as a cop, from what she had observed, the waiting and not knowing was always the hardest part on friends and family. The hard, moulded plastic chairs seemed designed to be deliberately uncomfortable. She found that she had to get up several times to pace up and down the room, burning off nervous energy.
The sound of shoes echoing on the linoleum covered floor announced the arrival of a slight, petite Asian woman in surgical scrubs. Beckett recognized her, it was one of Josh's medical friends, Michelle.
"We've just finished in surgery and Josh has made it so far. I repaired his liver and he's stable from the point of view of his intra-abdominal injuries. It's the head injury that is the most concerning thing at the moment. The neurosurgeons have done a craniotomy to drain the blood that accumulated around his brain and to relieve the swelling. At this point, there's nothing more that we can do other than to wait and pray. The next twenty-four hours are going to be the most critical."
"Thanks for all you've done, I'm sure that you've given him the best shot of getting through this," Beckett said.
"We always do our best, but for one of our own we give it one hundred and ten percent," Michelle replied with a tired smile.
"Can we see him now?" Sarah asked.
"They'll be taking him into ICU shortly. I need to warn you that he's still unconscious and intubated. Keeping him in a coma helps relieve the brain swelling. He won't respond to you at all, but I like to think that even when they are unconscious people know when they are surrounded by loved ones."
He didn't look like Josh at all, was Beckett's first thought as she approached his bedside. His face was all swollen and also distorted by the ventilation tube coming out of his mouth, his hair was covered by swathes of crepe bandages. Something about being sick in hospital seemed to strip away the outer layers of a person, leaving just the basic humanity behind.
Sarah broke down and started to sob softly as she reached out to grab one of his hands. "Josh, you fight this you hear me. I can't cope without my baby brother. I need someone to boss around at the next family dinner."
It felt like such a private moment, watching someone else break down like that, Beckett didn't know what to do. She'd experienced it before in her professional role, she'd often been the one calling or knocking on a door at night to deliver the bad news. But it had been a while since she'd been personally involved in a tragedy. She did what she thought was best and stayed, rubbing her hand in reassuring circles over Sarah's back.
Sarah cried until the well ran dry, and both women finally settled into chairs by the bed to hold vigil. Ever person is different in how they react to bad news, some collapse in grief, others get angry and rail at the world. Personally Beckett was numb, she felt like there was a thick layer of cotton wool insulating her. Maybe once she had time to process everything the emotions would start but for now there was nothing.
Time passed but neither of them noticed it until the faint pinkish light of dawn started to filter through the curtains. It reminded them that the rest of the world was moving on, indifferent to their personal trials.
Beckett excused herself once it was seven a.m. She had to step out of the hospital in order to use her cell phone, she needed to phone work in order to let them know that she wasn't coming in for the day. "I'll be back soon," she promised Sarah. "Do you want a coffee? I can grab some on my way back."
"Yeah, that would be great, thanks."
Her first call was through to Montgomery, it was odd to tell him the story in that clear, detached, clinical way that she used to inform him of any of her cases. A simple run through of all the facts, no emotion leaking into it at all. He'd been very understanding, telling her to take all the time that she needed, her team could cover until she got back.
Her second call was to Castle.
"Good morning Beckett," he answered his phone, sounding particularly cheerful this for this time of day. "Have we caught another body or has there been a new development in the current case?"
"Neither actually. I was ringing to let you know that I won't be in to work today."
"What's wrong? Are you ok?" he sounded concerned. It would take a lot for Kate Beckett to unexpectedly miss a day of work.
"I'm fine, but Josh is in the New York Presbyterian hospital. He was knocked off his bike last night after leaving my placeā¦."
That was when the dam burst, and pain came flooding in, she was no longer numb. Josh had been in an accident after leaving her place; after leaving her place in a highly agitated mood after their fight. Oh my god, she thought, it's my fault that he got hurt. Logically she knew that she hadn't been in control of either the bike or the car that had collided with it, but try telling that to the guilt that was overwhelming her.
"Kate, are you still there?" he said when there had been silence for a few minutes.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Can I do anything to help at all? I can meet you at the hospital in twenty minutes," he offered.
"No!" she all but shouted, that was the last thing that she needed. She already felt guilty enough, having Castle turn up would just remind her about exactly why Josh had left. "No," she said again but more softly. "There's nothing to do here but wait. I'm going to hang around here until the doctors can give us a clearer idea of his chances."
"Ok, but if there's anything at all that you need, you just have to call."
To say but Josh wasn't his favorite person in the world would be an understatement. But he would never wish him harm and he would certainly never want anything to happen which would cause Kate to feel bad. She had sounded so distraught when she had spoken to him on the phone, he wished that there was something that he could do.
He managed to restrain himself for four whole hours, trying to spend his time productively by working on his next Nikki Heat novel, but so far, all that he'd accomplished was one whole paragraph. The words just didn't want to flow and he knew it was because he was distracted by Kate and what she was going through.
Maybe he should just go and see her anyway, he could grab some lunch on the way. She wasn't very good remembering to eat at the best of times, often skipping lunch at work. This could be something practical that he could do to help her. She might have told him not to come but he wasn't very good at obeying orders, and he knew that she wasn't very good at asking for help.
He got to the hospital by twelve but then he hit an obstacle. Only partners and immediate family members of patients were allowed to visit in the ICU and despite his best charm offensive the nurse wouldn't let him past the reception area.
"Can you at least find Kate Beckett for me? She'll be sitting with Josh Davidson. Just let her know that Richard Castle is waiting for her out the front and I've brought her some lunch," he cajoled the stern looking nurse.
"I'm sorry sir, we're very busy. I don't have time to go tracking down visitors for you. You'll just have to wait over there," she indicated the chairs in the waiting area.
It was past two o'clock before Castle spotted her coming out of the ICU. For a beautiful woman, she looked like crap. Her hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail, her complexion was wan and dark circles ringed her eyes.
"Kate!" he called out to get her attention. She'd almost walked right past him without any recognition at all. She startled briefly at the sound of her name and then focused on him.
"Castle? What are you doing here? I thought I told you not to come."
"I know but I just came to bring you lunch," he held up the brown takeaway bag like a peace offering. "Except the nurse wouldn't let me into ICU to find you, so I've been waiting here."
"Thank you," she relented as she took the food from him. "I haven't managed a bite to eat since last night." She slumped down into the chair next to him.
"How's he doing?"
"He's still in a drug-induced coma for now, they're worried about his head injury. But we won't really know how bad it is until they start weaning him off the medication tomorrow."
"I'm sorry," there really wasn't much more that he could say.
She sat there eating the sandwich he'd brought her, while he watched her with worried eyes. He was so focused on her that he hadn't really noticed the older couple who joined them five minutes later, it was only when Beckett leapt to her feet and away from him that he even registered their presence.
"Tom, Margaret," she greeted the couple. He was surprised when she didn't introduce him at all, but then it was a stressful situation so bad manners were probably the last thing on her mind.
"Josh is in bed space eleven through those doors. Sarah's with him at the moment, I just stepped out to get some air and a bite. You guys go through, I'll join you in a minute."
Beckett waited until they were alone again before she said anything. "That was Josh's parents. I'd better go back in now, see if there's any news yet."
"Ok, I'll be waiting out here if you need anything." He was surprised that she looked almost uncomfortable at his offer.
"Look you don't have to do that."
"I know, but I want to."
Finally she shrugged, unable to budge him from his decision, and then turned to disappear through the doors back into the ICU.
A/N: Sorry this is a bit of a filler chapter, had to set the scene first before we can get to the interesting interaction stuff.
