Castle let everyone else go in to see her first. Despite his need to see her alive and breathing, he had no plans of leaving her room until she woke up, so he wanted to let everyone else have a chance to see her. He text his mother, who responded by saying Alexis had passed out the second she hit the bed and that they would come by in the morning.
Jim was the first in to see her, followed by Esposito, Ryan and then Lanie. Castle spoke to Jim as the rest of them went in to see Kate.
"I'm going to stay with her tonight."
"I figured you would. Thank you."
"Of course. You can go get some sleep too. I will call everyone the second she wakes up. You can even stay at my place if you want. We have a spare bedroom, its closer."
Jim considered the offer for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Thanks Rick, I'd like that."
"You're welcome. I don't like the thought of you going home by yourself tonight anyhow."
He text his mother again, letting her know Jim would be there shortly. He stood up and shook Jim's hand as he left and was surprised to find himself pulled into a hug.
"You're a good man Rick, I'm glad she found you."
"And I'm glad I found her sir."
They nodded at each other and Jim headed towards the elevator. Lanie came out of Kate's room and came to stand with the boys.
"Are you staying here tonight Castle?" She asked quietly.
"Yes. You guys go, I'll call you as soon as she wakes up."
"We can stay Castle." Esposito stated.
"I know you can, but there is no reason for all of us to lose sleep. Go. I'll call you."
Ryan and Esposito looked at each other for a moment before nodding. They understood his need to be there until she woke up.
"Alright, but you call if you need anything, understand."
"Understand."
He watched them walk down the hall and into the elevator then turned to the door of Kate's room. He opened the door quietly and walked in. He was surprised to find a doctor flipping through the chart at the end of her bed, and took a step back when the doctor that turned to face him was Josh.
"J-Josh? What are you doing here?"
"I work here. And I'm checking on Kate." His response was short, his tone cold.
"I thought you were…out of the country?"
"I've been back, for a month now." He muttered as she checked the machines that were hooked up to Kate.
"Aren't you a cardiac surgeon?"
Josh spun around to face him, anger in his eyes as well as his voice.
"Yes, I am. But that is my girlfriend laying in the bed fighting for her life."
"I know…I was just…surprised to see you is all."
"I came as soon as someone from the staff called and told me what had happened. I…she told me she wasn't feeling well a few days ago and was going to stay in bed. I offered to come, but she told me no. I tried calling last night but she didn't answer. I even went to her place but there was no answer at the door either. The news about the captain was all over the news. I've been worried sick…and now this…what the hell is going on?"
Rick was a little surprised by his anger, but then realized how angry he would be if no one had called him and something had happened to Kate. He shook his head to clear his thoughts as a vivid image of watching her eyes go blank before closing flashed across his mind.
"She got shot at Captain Montgomery's funeral. Whatever else she does or doesn't want you to know is up to her to decide."
"Yea well, she and I can discuss that later. I'm going to be in and out all night. I work night shift, and I'll be up here checking on her as much as I can."
"Good." Rick said as he pulled up a chair next to Kate's bed. "We'll be seeing a lot of each other then."
"You can't stay here."
"Like hell I can't. I'm not leaving her alone."
"She won't be alone. I just told you, I'll be here. She is my girlfriend. You really think I'd just leave her alone?"
Castle smiled slightly at Josh's need to emphasize the word girlfriend every time he said it, like he was reassuring himself of his status in Kate's life.
"Well she is my partner and I have every intention of being here when she wakes up."
Josh glared at him for a minute before turning to storm out of the room. Castle watched him go, then turned his attention to Kate. Tears welled up in his eyes and ran slowly down his face at the sight of her laying there looking so helpless. He looked at the tubes running into her, and the machines hooked up to her before his gazed rested on the steady rise and fall of her chest. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. He leaned down and kissed her forehead softly.
"Thank you Kate, for staying with me."
He sat down in the chair next to her bed and used another one to prop up his feet. He picked up a magazine and tried to read but found himself looking at her every few seconds to make sure she was still breathing, so he gave up and set the magazine down. He leaned his head back and followed the tubes that ran from her arms. One of them was blood and he smiled softly as he saw his last name scrawled across the bag. He took a little bit of comfort in knowing that it was his blood running into her body and helping her live. He closed his eyes and focused on the even sound of her breathing and finally drifted into a restless sleep.
Castle woke up several times though out the night in a panic and had to stand up and watch Kate breathe to reassure himself that she was alive. A few times he had woken up to Josh checking on her. Neither one of them spoke to each other and did their best to ignore the others presence in the room.
Castle picked up his phone from the table he had sat it on and looked at the clock. 4:00am. It was still early. He had text messages from Lanie, Esposito, Ryan and his mother. He responded to all of them letting them know she was still okay but not awake yet, then he sat his phone down and turned his attention back to Kate.
A wave of guilt washed over him that brought him to tears. He blamed himself for everything that had happened over the course of the past week. If it hadn't been for him there was a good chance none of this would have happened. Had he not dug deeper into Johanna's murder chances were Captain Montgomery would still be alive and Kate wouldn't be in a hospital bed fighting for her life. Had he been a little more observant, or a little faster he could have gotten her out of the way of the bullet that had almost killed her. He had no doubt that whoever was after her would not stop until they got what they wanted. The only hope against that was if she got to them first, and Castle had every intention of doing everything he could to make that happen. He would fund an entire task force dedicated to the case if he had to. Anything to keep her safe.
His train of thought was pulled back into the present when Kate shifted in her bed and moaned softly. He reached for her had, gripping it softly. He waited on calling the nurse. She had done the same thing a few times during the night and nothing had come of it. The first time he had called the nurse, frantic, and could tell by her annoyed expression that it really hadn't been necessary.
"I'm right here Kate." He whispered the words, but in the silence of the room they sounded much louder. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and his heart stopped when he saw their brilliant green; a sight he hadn't been sure he would ever see again a few hours ago.
"C-castle?" Her voice was raspy, hesitant, and barely louder than a whisper but he was up and at her side in an instant, his hand still wrapped around hers.
"Right here Kate, I'm right here."
He leaned over the bed so she could see him without moving. She blinked slowly as her vision tried to focus, but the effort made her tired so she just closed her eyes.
"W-what…where…"
"Shhh. Don't try to talk. You were shot. You're in the hospital."
"Espo…" Her voice sounded panicked and he understood at once what she wanted.
"No. Everyone is fine. Esposito, Ryan, Lanie, your dad, my mom, Alexis. Everyone. They are all okay."
"She took a deep breathe and the faintest trace of a smile appeared on the edges of her mouth. He felt a small squeeze of his hand.
"Than…"
"Shhh. Its fine. Stop trying to talk, just rest."
He pushed the button for the nurse even though he could tell she had drifted back to sleep by the way her breathing evened out. Tears openly streamed down his face as the nurse came into the room. She took one look at his face and rushed to the bedside, checking machine monitors as she moved Castle out of the way.
"What happened? Is she okay?"
"She woke up, kind of."
The nurse glared at him.
"No, not like the other times. Her eyes opened, she was trying to talk to me."
"Did she know where she was?"
"No, but she knew my name and was trying to ask questions. She didn't keep her eyes open very long and could hardly talk."
"It is going to take her a while to come around, but this is a good sign. You should go home, get some sleep…"
"No way, not until she is awake. I'm not taking the chance of her waking up alone."
The nurse smiled sadly at him. She could tell by the determination in his voice that he wasn't going to budge.
"You should at least get food. The cafeteria is open 24 hours, if you give me your cell number I'll call you if anything happens."
"Thank you, but I don't think I could eat anyways. The rest of her family will be back later today, maybe I'll go while one of them stays later."
"Well, if you change your mind, let me know."
"I will, thank you."
The nurse smiled at him again and closed the door quietly as she left the room. Castle stood by the bed for a few more minutes, just watching Kate sleep. For the first time since she had been shot he allowed himself to feel a glimmer of hope that everything was going to be okay. When her eyes had closed at the cemetery he had been so sure he had lost her, so sure he would never see her smile or laugh again. That he would never see her roll her eyes at some of his most outlandish theories; then smile when she thought he wasn't looking. Never see her get so frustrated with him that all she could do was purse her lips and walk away, leaving him to follow her and end up making her laugh anyway. He knew that her job put her life on the line on a daily basis sometimes, he had been there though some of her most recent close calls, but none had come as close as this had. None had made him think about how deeply she had affected his life and how profoundly she had changed him as a person. None had moved him to tears at the though of his life without her in it.
Authors Note:
*flails around* the review reply link has not been working in my emails. As soon as it is again, I will be responding to reviews. Until then, please know I appreciate them all! Any mistakes in the story are mine, I own up to them 100%. I am not a doctor, I will make mistakes in the medical aspect of things, but if those are the only critiques, then I'm happy as a clam.
This story got a much warmer welcome than I expected. I did not want to write this one, as I felt it was...I don't know, over done? to be writing a fic based on the finale. However, once my mind wandered after the end I had to write it. I am glad you are enjoying it. Thank you AGAIN for reviewing. If you are a regular reading of my other stuff you will know I normally reply to reviews, but I haven't been able to (can you tell its bugging me)
Also, *ducks flying objects for bringing Josh back* have faith, mkay?
And, as always, THANK YOU for reading.
