For the rest of the day the group did everything in shifts. The would go in pairs to get food and they all took turns sitting in Kate's room. It took a few hours but the group finally managed to convince Castle to lay down on the waiting room couch and sleep for a few hours. He woke up to see them all sitting on the floor playing monopoly. He smiled at how easily they all got along. If it weren't for the fact that Kate was missing, he could almost let himself imagine that it was game night at his place. His gaze drifted around the room and he saw that it was still just people from their group. Only Jim was missing and Castle assumed he was probably in Kate's room. Esposito, Ryan, Lanie and Alexis sat on the floor around the monopoly board and Martha sat in one of the chairs reading a magazine.

Esposito and Lanie sat on one side of the board, Ryan on another and Alexis sat across from Ryan. Castle smiled at the fact that Lanie was leaning against Espositio's side. He was glad they weren't trying to hide their relationship. They all needed as much comfort from one another as they could get right now. He stretched, then winced as he sat up slowly.

"Well look who's awake." Lanie teased.

"Welcome back to the land of the living bro, you've been cold for hours."

"What time is it?" Castle mumbled as he tilted his head from side to side, trying to work the kinks out of his neck.

"Just after two." Ryan answered as he rolled the dice.

"Two? Really? Wow."

"Yea Dad, you were out. Grams even left and went home to get the game and some books. You haven't noticed anything."

Alexis smiled softly at him as she counted out money and handed it to Ryan for passing go.

"I see you've taken over my roll as banker?" Castle laughed.

"Of course."

"How is she?" He asked to the group as a whole. There was no need to elaborate on which she he was referring to.

"The same. We've all been taking shifts, an hour each. Jim just relived me." Esposito answered. Castle nodded and looked around the room. They all looked tired and worried.

"Does anyone need anything? I'm going to go to the cafeteria and get coffee. I'll take the next shift in her room."

"I'll come with you. I could use a soda or something." Martha said as she stood up from her chair and stretched.

"Anyone else?" They all shook their heads no as he and Martha headed to the elevator. Martha turned to Rick as soon as the doors slid shut.

"You should come home tonight. Alexis is worried about you. I am worried about you."

"I wasn't the one who got shot."

"No, but you could have been. You would have been had you been a second faster. Richard…does that woman know how much you love her?"

Castle leaned against the back of the elevator and sighed as he ran his hand though his hair.

"I don't know mother. We never talk about any of the things that happen between us."

"Well you need to tell her."

"I did…" His statement drifted into uncomfortable silence for a moment and the elevator doors opened before he could continue. They stepped off the elevator and walked towards the cafeteria. Martha kept quiet, knowing if she gave him enough time he would finish his statement.

"I've tried to tell her. More than that I've tried to show her. I'll do anything to be there for her. But…I did tell her. When she got shot…before she passed out, I…said I loved her. I wasn't sure I would ever get a chance and I didn't want her to…I wanted her to know."

"Oh Richard…" Martha cooed as she put her hand on his arm. He sighed heavily as she continued. "You need to tell her, when you know she can hear you. Not when she's…not like that."

"I know I do. But…now isn't the time. Once we get past all of this."

"There is always going to be something you can use as an excuse to put it off. That's how life is. Not everyone is given a second chance, don't waste is."

"I don't plan on it."

"Good."

They made idle small talk as they paid for the coffee and headed back up to the waiting room. They stepped off of the elevator and Jim was waiting for them.

"What? What happened? Is she okay?" Castle asked, the panic in his voice becoming more apparently with every word as he hurried in the direction of Kate's room, Jim and Martha trailing behind him.

"Castle, she's fine. She's still not awake. I came out early and heard you were awake, I figured you would want the next shift."

Castle's pace slowed as Jim's words sank in. She was still fine. Asleep, but fine. He smiled, embarrassed at his panic.

"Right. Sorry about that."

"It's okay. I should have waited until you got back. I was headed to the cafeteria and just happened to meet you at the elevator. I wasn't waiting for you."

"Its okay. Who is in there with her now?"

"Lanie. She said she'd stay until you got there."

Castle nodded and headed towards Kate's room. He opened the door quietly and saw Lanie sitting in the chair next to Kate's bed, tears slowly running down her face.

"Hey." He whispered. Lanie looked up at him and half smiled. He walked over and sat in the chair across from her.

"You okay?"

"Yea, I just…seeing her like this…" She sniffed and wiped the tears off of her face with the back of her hand. Castle reached over and squeezed her hand. He hated seeing her so upset. Lanie, along with Kate, was one of the strongest women he knew and to see her looking so…broken, was hard.

"She's going to be okay."

"I know she is. I just wish she would wake up and start telling us all to go home, ya know?"

Castle laughed softly.

"Yea, me too. And you know she will. She's going to take one look at all of us and tell us to go home, that we look like hell."

They both laughed, then stopped as they realized they were in a hospital room, next to Kate.

"It feels weird to laugh." Lanie stated quietly.

"It does, but you know she'll have us all laughing over this at some point."

"I don't know that we'll ever laugh over this one Castle. This one came too close. We lost her…"

"I know."

"She loves you, you know that, right?"

Castle looked at the floor between them, then back up at Lanie.

"I don't know Lanie…"

"Well I do."

A look of surprise flashed across Castle's face and Lanie smiled.

"No, she hasn't come right out and said it to me, but she doesn't have to. She's my best friend Castle, and I know she loves you. I know she's scared. I know the two of you have this hit and miss thing going, and that there is probably more to it than any of us know, but I know one thing. She loves you Rick. And I know you love her. Don't waste any more time. We…never know how much time we have."

Castle nodded slowly and Lanie held his gaze for a moment before patting his knee as she stood to leave.

"I'll get going before the nurses come in and get all upset about having more than one person in here. We're all driving them nuts as it is. You come out in an hour and let someone else come in. I know you plan on staying all night again, so let other people be here while they can."

"I will."

Castle smiled at Lanie as she closed the door and he thought again about how lucky he was to have all of these amazing people in his life. He looked over at Kate who was still sleeping peacefully and wondered if she had heard him say he loved her. And if she had, would it change anything between them once she woke up.

"If this is your spot…I will stand with you."

"Captain please, just listen to me. You don't have to do this. Please, sir! I forgive you. I forgive you."

"This is my spot Kate…this is where I stand."

"No..no. Please! Sir, you don't have to do this. No…please. Castle let me go! PLEASE!"

Kate's breath caught in her throat at the memory, though she wasn't fully awake. She gasped as she tried to catch her breath and was vaguely aware of someone saying her name, but they sounded so far away. She thought about opening her eyes, but the actual action seemed to take too much effort. She fought the panic and took a few deep breaths as she listened to her surroundings. She could hear machines, but aside from that it was quiet. Where was she? She fought hard to remember something, anything.

The memories seemed to come in pictures, like a flashback. The grief hit her like a hammer. The captain was gone. He had died to protect her. More than that, he had chosen to die in her place. Castle…they had argued, but the captain had called him because he knew. He knew Castle was the only person who would take her away and let the captain carry out his plan. He knew Castle would do anything to protect her.

The funeral. They had been at the funeral. She had been speaking, Castle had been standing next to her and then…she had been shot. She remembered him screaming her name, and hitting the ground. Him begging her to stay with him, that he…had he really said that he loved her? She forced her eyes open, and blinked slowly a few times as they adjusted to the light. She turned her head and could make out a figure sitting next to her bed. She blinked a few more times before she was able to focus enough to tell that it was Castle. She tried to find the energy to say his name, but couldn't do it and she closed her eyes again as she drifted back to sleep.

Castle sat bolt upright when Kate gasped. He slid the chair closer to her bed.

"Kate? Kate. I'm right here Kate."

She seemed to panic for a moment, then took a few deep breaths. It was a few minutes before her eyes opened, just barely, and she turned her head towards him. He could barely tell that her eyes were open, but he reached for her hand anyways and took it just as she drifted back to sleep. He sighed and leaned back in the chair. He was grateful that she had seemed to have woken up for a moment, but wished she would say something, just so he knew she was okay. He spent the rest of his hour shift just watching her sleep. There was no change and he hoped that at least her sleep wasn't haunted by the nightmare that had led her to this point.

He kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand before reluctantly heading to the waiting room. He shook his head sadly at everyone's expectant faces.

"She opened her eyes a little bit and seemed to be awake for a second, but then…" He sighed heavily.

"She lost a lot of blood and was in surgery for a long time. Its going to take a while bro, but she'll be alright."

Esposito patted his shoulder as he walked past. It was his turn to sit with Kate. Visiting hours would be over in a few hours and Castle would be alone for the night. He realized how grateful he was that everyone had decided to stay with him all day.

He sat in the chair next to Jim. Alexis and Martha had gone to the cafeteria, Lanie and Ryan decided to join them, leaving Castle and Jim alone in the waiting room. Castle leaned back in the chair and let his head come to rest on the waiting room wall as he closed his eyes. The silence between him and Jim was more comfortable than he expected it would be, considering he hadn't known the man for very long and his daughter was lying in a hospital bed. They were quiet for a moment, and then Jim spoke.

"Thank you Rick."

Castle turned his head and looked at Jim without lifting it from the wall.

"For what?"

"For trying to stop her. I knew it was a long shot when I came to your loft that night. I knew there wasn't much that could stop her, there never is when she has her mind set on something. But I knew you would try, and I knew from the way she has talked about you that you, more than anyone else, had a shot."

Jim reached in his pocked and pulled out a chain that Castle recognized at once as Johanna's ring on its necklace. Jim watched the ring spin for a moment before looking at Castle.

"She had this in her pocket at the funeral. They gave it to me…after the surgery."

He hesitated for a second then held out his hand, offering the necklace to Castle, who slowly shook his head no.

"Jim…I can't."

"Just…hold on to it for her? I…I know you'll be here when she wakes up, and I don't want her to want it and have it not be here. You can give it back to me tomorrow morning if she's not awake."

"Are you sure? She…"

"Wouldn't care Rick. I know she wouldn't or I wouldn't be giving it to you."

Castle swallowed hard, then held out his hand for Jim to drop the ring into it. It felt heavier than it should have and Castle knew it was because he understood the significance behind it. He remembered the first time Kate had showed it to him. It had been the night she had first told him about her mothers case. The night he decided to try to help her. The night, that looking back, had changed everything. He couldn't stop the tears from slowly running down his face. Here Jim was thanking him, when it was his fault Kate was in the position she was in.

"I'm so sorry Jim…"

"For what?"

"This. All of it, its my fault. Had I not dug farther into Johanna's case, this wouldn't have happened. We wouldn't be here. Kate wouldn't' be…"

"No. this isn't your fault. She came to me when you guys found the person who killed Johanna…when you knew that was who you were going after, but before you found him…she told me she didn't want to lose this one. You've given her the closest thing to closure about her mothers case that she's ever had. She told me…that she shot the man who killed her, to save you. You have no idea how much what you've done has helped her. And I know she wouldn't admit that if she were sitting here, but for years she felt like she was chasing ghosts in her moms case. She wouldn't blame you for this, so don't blame yourself."

Castle smiled and found himself wishing that he had gotten the chance to know Jim before all of this had happened. The two men held each others gaze for a minute before lapsing back into their comfortable silence. Castle started to slip Johanna's ring into his pocket but decided it didn't feel right. He stopped for a moment as he considered what do to with the necklace. Putting it in his pocket seemed too cold and impersonal for something he knew was so important, but putting it on seemed almost too personal. He squeezed his hand around the necklace until it matched his body temperature and he almost couldn't tell he was holding it anymore, then he slipped it over his head and tucked it into the neck of his shirt. He looked sideways at Jim to gauge his reaction, but if the older man thought anything of the action he hid it well.

Author's Note: Yup, another update, already. I was going to alternate updates between this and Breaking Point...but this one seems to have a louder voice. I got quite a bit written, so I figured I might as well share. As always, all mistakes are my own.

The best way to thank me for updating fast? Why reviews of course. Lol

As always, thank you for reading.