Chapter 3: Concussions and Care
"I'm going to go insane in here," she looks up at him from the hospital bed.
"You have to stay. It's just one night and then you can leave."
"Then I'm going to insane after that because Montgomery is not going to let me go back to work and I'm going to have to sit at home all day and do I have no idea what."
"You can't go home, Kate. You're place is a crime scene, and the doctor said you can't be alone for the next seventy-two hours."
"Nothing is going to happen to me, Castle."
"You have to stay with somebody once you get out of here. I've got an extra bedroom, plus I work from home."
"I don't know what everyone is so worried about; it's just a few bumps on my head. I just have a headache. My vision is back to normal, and the dizziness is getting better. In a few days, I'll be back to normal."
Ryan, Esposito, and Montgomery all file into her room. "How are you doing, Beckett?"
She simply glares at them; they all knew how much she hated hospitals.
"Forensics is going over your apartment now. Maybe something will turn up on these guys."
"Probably not. They had gloves on," she says.
"So how exactly did this happen?"
"I heard noises outside my door, and I stood up to go and get my gun from the bedroom, but they kicked down the door before I could. One of them had a knife and the other had a gun. They told me we'd never get the guy who killed Sara Moore and took the case file."
"And how'd you end up with a concussion?"
"They decided to tie me up with duct tape, and I guess one of them hit me over the head with something."
"Castle found you? What was he coming over for?" Ryan and Esposito share a grin.
"I was going to go over the case with her to see if we could come up with anything," Castle says, really hoping that they wouldn't tease her about that tonight when she was already angry.
"Okay… so they broke in the precinct to get all of our information and evidence on this case; they clearly don't want us to solve it. But why attack Beckett? The two events happened simultaneous so they must have known that you had the case file on you," Montgomery reasons.
"Or she's the lead detective on the case and they wanted to threaten her so she wouldn't continue to look for the killer," the writer offers.
"Either way you've got three days sick leave, Beckett. You go anywhere near the precinct before those three days are up, and I will fire you," the captain threatens her, knowing that it was the only way to get her to take care of herself. "When you come back, you will be on desk duty until you get a doctor's approval to be back in the field."
"Sir, I have to find him. He thinks he can get away with this, and we have to stop him," she starts to argue.
"Save it. Ryan and Esposito and the other detectives can handle it. Your job is to rest and get better."
"Fine," she sighs.
They all turn to the door when Lanie opens it. "I was just talking to your doctor."
"I'm fine, Lanie."
"You've got two pretty good bumps on your head and a pretty severe concussion. You're lucky there's no broken bones or swelling."
"Okay, maybe I'm not so fine right now. But I will be; I'm not dying or anything."
Lanie glares at her, "The doctor said you're not to be alone for three days. I assume Castle's already asked you to stay with him, but I've got an extra room too so if you'd rather stay with me, you're welcome to."
"I'd rather not come between you and your boyfriend," the detective glances at Esposito before looking back at her friend.
The ME doesn't give anything away, "Okay. Well, a nurse should be in shortly. They're going to give you something to help with the headache and make you sleep. I'll stop by in the morning before you're discharged with an overnight bag for you."
"Thanks. You guys don't have to stay here with me. Just… keep me in the loop with the case, and I'll see you in a few days."
Her four coworkers bid the two goodbye and wish her a speedy recovery. Once they are all gone, Castle takes a seat beside her bed. "So, Detective, what can I do for you?"
"You don't have to stay, Castle. Your mother and daughter are probably worried about you."
"I called home while they were doing all their fancy scans on you; they know about the situation and don't expect me home tonight."
"Still… you don't have to stay. They're going to knock me out so I won't even know if you're here."
"I said I'd stay, and I always keep my promises, Kate."
She gives him a weak smile, "Thanks."
"It's what friends do."
"You're a good friend, Castle," she reaches out to take his hand, which had been resting on the blankets beside hers.
A nurse comes in with a syringe. "Don't fight the drowsiness. Sleeping will help your head feel better," she says, injecting the contents of the syringe into Beckett's IV.
"Didn't you say you had writing to get done tonight, Castle?"
"Not had to… more like should have gotten done," he amends, trying not to make her feel guilty. "And I got stuck. That's why texted you to see if I could come over."
"So are you going to give Nikki a concussion in the next book?"
"Probably not. But maybe I'll have something happen to her, not too serious of course, but enough to make Rook worry about her."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you tonight. All I could think about was making sure they got out of my apartment before you showed up."
"It's fine. I mean, we've been working together for over two years, and this is the first time you've been hurt so… we're doing pretty good."
"Are you forgetting my apartment blowing up last year?"
"You didn't have to go to the hospital then."
"They wanted me to, but I hate hospitals."
"So I've heard."
"Can you tell me a story, Rick?" she turns her head to look at him.
"What would you like to hear about?" he smiles.
"Whatever you want to tell me about," she answers, yawning. "I can feel it making me sleepy."
"Well, there's this one story I used to tell Alexis when she was little. I always wanted to make up new bedtime stories for her, but she always wanted to hear the same one."
"Let's hear it then."
Castle begins the story, and she falls asleep a couple minutes in. He continues it, reminiscing in his daughter's childhood now that she is too grown up for bedtime stories, as he watches his muse sleep, captivated by her.
A/N: So... you all are very enthusiastic about this story. Which good... but I think some of you might be on the verge of obsessed. And lucky for those people, I'm extremely bored right now and hoping that lab will be cancelled in the morning because of the weather. Although I really have no idea what I would do with myself all day if classes were cancelled... And for the record, I've never had a concussion and I'm not a medical professional so I don't really know what happens, but hopefully what little research I did helped to make this more accurate. Thanks again.
