"But Lord knows that this world is cruel,
and I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool,
learning loving someone don't make 'em love you.
Must I always be waiting, waiting on you?
Must I always be playing, playing your fool."
– Sitting, Waiting, Wishing – Jack Johnson.

"Come on man, help a brother out." Richard Castle whispered into his smuggled phone. He'd been contained in his hospital bed for eight straight days with only hospital food to eat. He needed something real.

A street vendor pretzel, a fresh bagel, a slice of pizza... anything that wasn't prepared in the hospital cafeteria would suffice for his craving.

"Castle I am not going to get in trouble from your daughter for bringing you contraband." Esposito's voice was filled with a serious note of mischief and Rick knew he was close to getting his sweet taste of the streets of New York.

He dropped his voice another decibel knowing that he was treading thin ice making this call, but he needed food, real food. "Esposito, I am serious. Bring me food and I will make it worth your while."

"Fine Castle," he hissed. "I'll bring you a pretzel."

"Hot mustard!" He practically shouted as Alexis walked into his room.

Throwing the receiver back at the cradle he turned and faced Alexis hitching an innocent look onto his face he smiled.

"Who is bringing you what?" His daughter asked, and he knew again that he was busted. That kid was so smart; he often wondered how he ever thought he could fool her.

"Uh... no one." He lied anyway, hoping that she would let it go. He would play the 'I just got shot' card as a last resort, knowing that he had sufficiently made it into a joke now. Though both Alexis and Beckett got serious looks whenever he brought it up, but he preferred Ryan and Esposito's reactions better.

They laughed with him as they always did, as if nothing serious had happened.

"Right, well next time don't shout 'hot mustard' when I'm walking in the room, and you should be all right." She came and gave him a tight hug, which he returned just as tight. She had been doing that lately, hugging him tightly. Probably in some passive way to hold on to him long, but he didn't really mind.

"I'm sorry. I've had enough Jell-O to last me a lifetime. Please, one hot pretzel, and I will gladly eat this for as long as I am here." She smiled and placed the bag she was carrying on the bed beside him.

"If you had only waited an hour, we could have stopped anywhere you like."

He sighed and looked into the bag and made as disappointed noise that he could muster. Clothes. Clean clothes and a pair of shoes. He was finally getting to leave. He had wanted to leave just as soon as he had woken up, but he hadn't been allowed.

"Can we still stop? Please Alexis? I beg you. I will be on my best behaviour."

She just smiled and pushed the bag closer to him. He knew that she was going to let him go anywhere.

Grabbing the bag, he gently swung himself out of the bed and hobbled towards the bathroom. He could walk easily enough, and the pain in his side was gone for the most part, but it still twitched a bit every time he took a step. His gait wasn't affected at all, but he purposely stepped lightly.

Once in the bathroom behind the locked door, he pulled off his hospital gown and got to work dressing. In a move so unlike himself he had so far avoided seeing his would. The doctor had told him the worst part of the wound was that he had lost a lot of blood, but he couldn't bring himself to look at it.

He knew it had been a foolish thing fighting that guy, but he was pointing his gun at Beckett, and that he wouldn't stand for. He hadn't thought of how dangerous it would be for a second once he realised that her life was in danger. Then he'd done what he had to do to protect her.

Some job he'd done of that too. When he was trying to save her, he had been the one that needed saving. As it usually ran in fiction. Luckily this wasn't fiction, and he had come out of it practically unscarred.

But now, as he pulled up his jeans he turned and faced the mirror shirtless and looked at himself. Four inches above the denim waist his side was covered with gauze. Tapped down on all sides the white stood out brightly from his skin, and as he started to peel it off, he was thankful for the first time that he wasn't an overly hairy man.

Once revealed the hole that had caused so much pain and damage stood even more shockingly out. A massive red hole, haphazardly stitched together tinged with pink around the edges. He could already see some lines of healing going on, and thought it had been painful he knew the scar it would leave behind would be worth it.

Also that, in that moment, he had saved Detective Beckett. Foolish as it may have been, he was alive, as was she, and that was what he would remember.

Covering it back up, he thought back over his last week. Flowers and cards had been delivered almost hourly; his fan sites had been overloaded with messages, and his mother had flown home as soon as she could have. He, of course, sent her back to LA to finish her movie, knowing that Alexis was safe.

The only thing that was bothering him was how little Beckett had visited him. He knew that she had stayed with Alexis the first three nights, a debt that he would never fully be able to repay, and that she looked in on her for the other four nights.

She had been by once with Alexis, and even then she had sat in the background, not really participating in the conversation. He knew she must be awfully mad at him, for what he wasn't sure, but for him to avoid him like this, he knew he must have done something stupid.

Except he couldn't remember exactly what it was that he had done. His world, and memory, became blurry from when he was shot, to the time he came out from his sedation. Ryan had told him that it was a total of 76 hours that he was missing, and Castle often wondered what was said between them.

Instead of dwelling on those facts, like he had for the past three days, he slid into his shirt, excited about getting to sleep in his own bed and eat ice cream. Deciding not to tuck in the purple button down shirt Alexis brought him, he left the bathroom and moved back into the room. To his surprise Ryan, Esposito, Lanie and even Beckett where there waiting for him.

"Hey!" The three closest to him shouted and he smiled, thankful for these people. They were more than just the people he worked with, they had truly become his friends. Forgoing the fact that Beckett stayed in the background, he walked into Lanie's hug, wrapping his arms around her.

"Castle, you lucky you ain't dead. If you had been on my table, I'd have killed you." She lightly slapped his cheek and he looked at her in mock indignation.

"Thanks for the hug Dr. Parish." He said as she released him.

Instead of hugging the guys, they did their secret handshake, then high fived. Esposito held up a pretzel and Castle nearly melted, thanking his luck in friends.

"Thank you," he said stuffing a rounded corner of the pastry into his mouth. "Really, thank you."

Everyone laughed, and Castle smiled widely around his full mouth as Alexis hugged Beckett. He was glad that Alexis had her through this. Beckett was strong that way, in every way really, and was a good thing for his daughter. He already knew that Alexis liked Beckett, and he suspected the feeling was mutual as she wrapped his daughter in a hug.

"Alexis has agreed to let me eat anything I want, who's up for take-out at my house?" He asked, quickly adding, "My treat."

Three instant 'yes's' met his question, but he could see the hesitation on the female detective's face. He knew that she wasn't overly fond of him in the first place, though having admitted that she enjoyed having him around, but that didn't stop his feelings.

He had liked her for some time. It had started the way all of his feelings did, in his pants. But when he realised that more than that was involved in what he was feeling for her, he had stopped trying to win her over like some fan-girl that would jump at the chance to be with him.

It had taken little time for him to realise that Kate Beckett was a real woman, a woman with class and tact that he couldn't easily win over with just his name and money. It had taken a lot longer for him to realise that she was just the kind of woman he was looking for.

He was a writer and he felt extraordinarily cliché saying that she was everything that he didn't know that he needed, but it most times when he looked into her deep sea green eyes; he understood why the statement was cliché.

"Detective Beckett?" He asked, knowing that he had a hopelessly hopeful look on his face, practically begging her to come with him.

"Come on Kate, it'll be fun." His daughter fought for his side, and Castle was gleeful that she was his daughter.

Beckett looked as helpless to resist Alexis as he was, because after what looked an intense struggle and a prod by Lanie she nodded, and Castle danced a happy dance inside his head.

"Let's go." He said happily stuffing another huge bite of the now warm pretzel into his mouth, following the five of them out of the hospital.

*

Stifling a huge yawn, Castle looked on as Lanie, Alexis, Ryan and Esposito rocked out to 'It's My Life' by Bon Jovi on his Rock Band. They looked like they were having fun, and he wished he could join them. But he'd been regulated to the couch by Alexis who knew how extravagant he could be once he got that plastic guitar in his hands.

He'd volunteered to sing, but that had been pronounced a unanimously bad idea by his guests. So instead he sat on the opposite end of the couch from Beckett and watched his friends and daughter have fun.

The afternoon had progressed much the same way, a look at all of his toys and a few minutes playing with each one. A pleasant meal shared, and then to the living room for some Rock Band. Not that he minded, it was fun being out of the hospital, but he was exhausted for some reason, and he was sure he had a pretty good idea what that reason was.

"Oh oh," Lanie's sing song voice filled the silence as the last bars of the song played. "Writer-boy is getting tired. We should let him rest."

Ever the good host, he clumsily got to his feet and walked them to his door. Ryan and Esposito were the first to leave, secret handshakes and high fives all around. Lanie followed next saying that it was about time she got to see his home, and that he didn't need to get shot every time he wanted to have friends over.

Shockingly Beckett was last to leave, and she lingered in his doorway, struggling with some internal battle.

"Detective, thank you for coming," He whispered, Alexis' eavesdropping ears just through his small foyer and within listening distance. He wanted to say more, to wash away the worry that lined her face. It pained him that she looked the way she did, knowing in large part that it was his fault that she looked that way.

Without warning she wrapped him in a hug tight enough to rival Alexis' hugs of late. He reacted instantly wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her arms. Slight trembles ran through her body, and he rubbed one hand up and down her back trying to soothe her. He didn't know what brought on this out of character display of affection, but he wasn't going to question it when he finally had her in his arms.

"I'm glad you're okay." Was all she said as she quickly disentangled herself from him and flitted out the door. Leaving him in shock and cold as she disappeared around the corner towards the elevators.

Closing the door behind her, he leaned against it taking a deep breath, pondering why she hugged him like that.

"Dad," Alexis called coming into the foyer. "You heard the Doctor. Time for you to rest up to bed."

He nodded at her overbearing attitude and saluted her as he walked by heading for his room. "Yes ma'am."

There he knew he would lie surrounded by his blanket and thoughts of Detective Beckett and the enigma that she was proving herself to be.


Disclaimer: Nope... stil don't own Castle. I mean it's only been a day since I last said that. Give me a break.

AN: Speaking of which... you guys are getting horribly spoiled with an update a day. What kind of person am I... to do that.
A nice one... that's what.
I'm not to sure about tomorrow though.
Got another story on the go that I've kind of been neglegting. Gotta do that.
Castle and Beckett just kind of took over my brain though.
So... don't hold your breath... possibily Thursday. That is my plan.
And I'm sticking to it.
You have been great at reviewing... but I'd love a few more. Pretty please?
With a promise of some Castle/Beckett LEMON (or smut if you prefer.)
I'm not holding the story hostage for reviews... but I get 15 reviews for this chapter, I promise to do some serious... SERIOUS... whatever you wanna call it.

Happy hunting.