I was going to be evil and let you all hang for another day or so on the cliffhanger, but i'm in a good mood. so here it is. Thank you for all the favourites, follows and the reviews. This is another short chapter, but future chapters will be longer (though not too long)

Disclaimer -I am not part of the people that own the rights to Castle and the characters.

'Where is she?' Richard Castle shouted as he barrelled through the double doors into the small waiting room. Having woken late after getting lost in the latest Heat chapters, Rick had only discovered the article when Gina and Paula had near kicked his loft door in. It had taken three different numbers before he had discovered where Kate was and he had hung up in a frenzy when Ryan had informed him which hospital she was in.

'Slow down Writer Boy,' Lanie's furious glare stopped the the near panicking Castle in his tracks, 'You hung up before Kevin could explain.'

'Explain what?' Rick paled as Gina and Paula exited a nearby lift.

'Your girl had a major panic attack and passed out,' Lanie calmly stated, despite the fear in her, 'Javi caught her before she hit the floor, but we are still waiting for her to wake up.'

'The doc that's treating her said Becks is okay,' Esposito came up beside Lanie, 'But that her body needs a small amount of time to recover from the shock to it's system.'

'Shock?' Paula and Castle spoke at the same time as Gina's phone began to vibrate.

'Gates had just suspended her for the article,' Esposito explained, 'she turned to me completely perplexed and asked 'what interview?', so I told her and handed her the paper.'

'Dios,' Esposito winced, 'I've never seen someone pale that quickly that hadn't lost a limb. She blinked, swayed and I knew what was coming. Thank God I caught her before she hit the floor.'

'Perplexed?' Paula frowned.

'Yeah, confused,' Esposito replied.

'I know what it means,' The look that Paula sent back rivalled Lanie's worst glare and Esposito instinctively took a step back.

'It was like she had never seen the article before and had absolutely no prior knowledge of it,' Esposito scratched his forehead.

'I need to see her,' Rick moved towards where Ryan stood guarding a private room.

'Hold your horses,' Lanie planted a hand on Castle's chest, 'You go in there like a bull in a china shop and you will make things about four hundred times worse. You need to slow down and take a few minutes to think. I cannot believe my friend could do something like this, and I honestly cannot see how you could either.'

'What about lying to you for almost ten months Lanie,' Castle scowled, 'Is your friend capable of that?'

A loud crack rang out as Lanie slapped Castles face, 'How dare you? I don't know what in the freaking hell is going on between the two of you at the moment, but if you aren't here to make sure she is okay, then get the hell out now.'

'She didn't tell you then?' Rick was surprised at the revelation.

'Boy if you don't start making sense right now i'm gonna smack the stupid right outta you,' Lanie bristled.

'I'd rather you didn't Miss Parish,' Jim Beckett calmly spoke as he approached, 'It's good to see you again Richard, I just wish it was under better circumstances.'

'As do I Mr Beckett,' Rick shook the hand given to him.

'My daughter,' Jim sighed, 'well, I'm going to be blunt here. You are the love of her life and it scares the living shit out of her. Because of this she has made mistake after mistake and now it's all come home to roost. I heard Miss Parish's comment, but I have to ask you myself. Are you here for my daughter?'

'Always,' Rick instantly replied, 'Even though you are wrong and she doesn't return my affections, your daughter has me for the rest of our lives.'

'Then why are you the reason she has spent the last few weeks regularly falling asleep on my couch after sobbing her guts out?' Jim's bomb struck home hard.

'And when she isn't with her father she's doing the same on mine?' Lanie added.

'But...' Castle stammered.

'You and I need to talk privately Rick,' Jim motioned for Castle to follow him back into the private room.

'Where's Richard going?' Gina approached the group, her phone in her jacket pocket.

'Busy,' Paula distractedly answered as she watched the door Castle had just gone through.

'It's just that I have an appointment with the editor of the New York Weekly in thirty minutes,' Gina flinched as the group snapped their heads to her.

'I'm coming with you,' Esposito stated, 'No ifs or buts Miss Cowell, I have some questions for that ass myself.'

'We need to move then,' Gina checked her watch, 'We'll be cutting it fine if we leave right now.'

Javier gave Lanie a look and turned to where the blonde was already striding back to the lift, 'You forget, I have a get out of my way device. It's called the Gumball.'

Entering the private hospital room, Castle gave Ryan a quick nod of greeting before the younger man slipped back to his guard spot. As Ryan closed the door, Rick turned to the bed and whimpered softly as he took in the body laying on it.

The small shape curled up on the bed wasn't the Detective Kate Beckett he knew and adored. This one looked beyond exhausted, her wrists too skinny and her collar bones protruded too far for his liking.

'Why are you letting her do this to herself Rick?' Jim quietly spoke as he gently brushed her hair from her face, 'Why are you doing is to her?'

'Jim...' Rick's voice hitched, 'God Jim. I don't know what to do anymore.'

'Then I suggest you do what my wife always said to do and start from the beginning,' Jim sat in the chair next to Kate's head, motioning to Rick to take the one nearer her feet.

'I don't even know where that is,' Castle slumped in the uncomfortable chair.

'Then start from when you tried to take a bullet for my daughter.'

'I saw the glint from the rifle,' Castle whispered, 'but I wasn't quick enough. I'm sorry I failed you Jim.'

'Failed me?' Jim frowned.

'I promised you I would keep her safe,' Rick looked down at his shaking hands as he fought the urge to weep, 'And I failed you Jim. I failed Roy. I failed Kate.'

'Rick,' Jim rested a hand on Castle's shoulder, 'The hell you did. I watched you throw your body at my daughter in the hope you'd take that cursed bullet, not her. You did not fail my Katie and if I hear you say it again, I will take Dr Parish's advice and knock some sense into that head of yours.'

'But...'

'But nothing Rick,' Jim's hand squeezed reassuringly, 'You did everything you could, heck, you willingly risked your own life to protect hers and for that action alone, I am forever in your debt.'

'I told her I loved her,' Rick brokenly whispered, 'And she's lied to me ever since.'

'That she remembers?' Had the situation been any different Jim Beckett would have laughed at the look of surprise on Castle's face, 'No, she didn't tell me, but I spent two months in the cabin with her nightmares. At first she was having two or three a night, and by the time I left it was one every couple of nights.'

'Each one seemingly starred you and the utter worst involved you being shot instead of her, and you obviously dying in her arms,' Jim revealed, 'The only other time I have known her to cry in the manner she did was after...' Jim faltered.

Rick's mind was whirring at over nine thousand revolutions a second as he processed what Jim was telling him.

'We all have a fear that cripples us,' Jim sat back in his chair, 'I've experienced two versions of mine already and I believe I know what my Katie's is.'

Rick opened his mouth to ask, but Jim beat him to it.

'Losing you Rick,' Jim answered slowly, 'Losing Johanna nearly destroyed her. Heck, it destroyed me for a long time. But I can tell you with all certainty that if my daughter were to lose you, then there would be no coming back from that for her.'

'She lied...' Rick couldn't connect what Jim was telling him to Kate's actions.

'Who are you?' Jim took in the confused expression on Castle's face, 'You are Richard Edgar Castle. Writer of multiple best seller novels. The man that can have any woman he wants swooning before him. The man who's books saved her from spiralling down with her father. The man who willingly gave up thousands to find her mother's killer. The man who has been at her side for nearly four years now. The man that threw his body between her and a snipers bullet.'

'She is just Kate Beckett, NYPD,' Jim held up his hand as Rick spluttered, 'A woman who has suffered loss like no other, who has both internal and external scars, who finds committing to anyone a scary concept as we all leave.'

'She doesn't understand why a man like you would be interested in little old her,' Jim was surprised by Rick's reaction.

The shake in Castle's hands grew as he hid his face behind them, his shoulders joining in with the shaking. After a minute, Rick lowered his hands and Jim winced at the tear stains on the other man's face.

'God no,' Rick's voice was thick with emotion, 'She's so freaking wrong. If anyone doesn't deserve the other, it's me not deserving the frankly amazing woman that you raised.'

'Every day she wakes up and watches people go through the same emotions as she did that night,' Rick passionately spoke as he wiped at his face, 'Every day she searches for the justice for others that she was cruelly denied. She stares down killers and laughs in their faces. She stares death in the face and spits in his eye.'

'I just sit in my office writing my stories and pretending to be a douchebag in public' Rick sniffed, 'It is I who do not deserve her Jim.'

'You two are as bad as each other,' Jim gently chuckled and shook his head.

'I am deeply in love with your daughter Jim and I will do anything and everything to ensure her safety,' the passion in Rick's voice was evident in his eyes and Jim had to take a deep breath to calm his own emotions.

A distinctively feminine strangled sob cut through the room and in what seemed to be a blink to Jim, Castle was on his feet next to Kate's bed.

'Kate?' Rick grabbed hold of one of Kate's hand with one of his, his other hand brushing her hair from her face again.

'Say it again,' Kate wept, 'Please say it again.'

Realising he was suddenly intruding on an immensely private scene, Jim quietly stood and walked to the door. As his hand took hold of the door handle he heard Rick's voice quietly say, 'I love you Kate.'

The room held it's breath for what felt like hours, but was only a second, before Kate's emotional voice replied, 'I love you too Rick.'

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Jim slipped out the room.

'Is she?' Ryan looked with alarm at Jim's face.

'She's awake,' Jim beamed, 'and probably doing something i never thought I'd be so freaking happy for her to be doing until now.'

'Jim?' Lanie glanced at the closed door, a look of cautious glee on her face.

'They're healing,' Jim smiled, 'Together. At last.'

'Thank God.'