Chapter 4

The ambulance ride to NYU Medical Center was uneventful. There were no sirens, just lights, and even though it was nearing rush hour, they made good time. Castle sat in the back with the paramedic, Kate strapped to the stretcher in front of them. Once during the ride, her eyes closed for a minute. He almost panicked, and as if she sensed it, Kate opened her eyes to meet his. They did not speak a word to each other.

The Captain, Esposito and Ryan followed the ambulance also with lights on. All of them were anxious for Castle's statement-seeing as he's the only one who knew what happened. The Captain needed to know, because in incidents like this one, it's not uncommon for Internal Affairs to get involved. So he definitely wanted no surprises.

When they arrived, doctors and nurses took Beckett to a trauma room to assess her injuries. Castle was taken to a procedure room where he was met by a plastic surgeon, who also happened to be a fan. There were perks to being a famous writer—no waiting. Ryan and Esposito had to wait almost an hour before the nurse informed them that the doctor was wrapping things up and they could go in. Montgomery was staying on top of Beckett's condition by pestering the nurses about his top detective.

"How many stitches?" Esposito asked the doc, right before he left the room.

"Sixteen teeny tiny ones. Should hardly be a scar," the doctor replied, giving Castle a nod as he left the room.

Richard Castle was in rare form that afternoon. He was serious. The twinkle had almost left his eyes completely. "Any word about Detective Beckett?" She was always his first concern.

"Nothing yet."

"I guess you guys want to know what happened."

Esposito nodded and both took out their notepads. Castle relayed the story to them from peeing in the Styrofoam coffee cup to breathing for Kate Beckett. They had a few questions along the way, and a comment or two to make. "Did Detective Beckett have her weapon drawn?"

Castle closed his eyes to try and remember the scene as clearly as possible. He shuddered in response. "No, her weapon wasn't drawn. She was only carrying her flashlight."

"Did she announce herself to the suspect?"

"No, she did not have time."

"You said that the 'junkie grabbed the crow bar.' You saw him grab it?"

"No, I felt him hold on to it."

Esposito grimaced a little, "He didn't hold on to it. When you hit his arm, the crow bar went into it. When you jerked it back, you tore a five inch long hole in his forearm. The surgeons are swearing at you. He will probably never hold a gun in that hand again."

Castle nodded his head. A little bit more of the twinkle returned. "Good. Is that it?"

"That's it," said Ryan.

"Now how's Beckett really?"

"They had just taken her to radiology for x-rays and a CAT scan before we came in here."

"Were you with her? Did she seem okay? She hit her head pretty hard." Castle asked. She was almost killed right in front of me.

"We weren't in there with her, but we can go see if there's any news." Ryan and Esposito left Castle's room in search of the Captain. They were anxious to escape Castle's queries; neither had ever seen him this agitated before.

After checking the waiting room to no avail, Ryan asked the nurse at the desk if she knew where Captain Montgomery was. She informed them that Beckett was back from radiology and the Captain was with her, and she directed them to her room.

Beckett was out of immediate danger, so they moved her to a regular room. Ryan and Esposito joined the Captain in her room. Kate was leaning back on the bed at an angle; she gave them a tired smile when they entered. She had a bad scrape on the side of her face, but otherwise she looked like nothing happened.

"Did you get his statement?" The captain asked, curious to see if Castle was still too shaken up to give it.

"Yeah. He was actually pretty good with the details." Esposito remarked.

"What did he say?" Kate leaned forward in the bed as she asked, "What happened?"

Esposito's eyes shifted to the Captain, who gave a slight nod.

"After we entered the building, Castle saw the kid enter through a basement window with a gun in his hand. He followed him and then followed the noises in the basement because it was too dark to see anyone. He turned into the laundry room about the same time you got there on the other side."

Kate listened intently, as if she hadn't been there, because she couldn't remember any of it.

Esposito continued. "Castle saw the junkie fire at you and somehow had the presence of mind to quietly approach the kid. He hit the assailant's arm with a crowbar as the gun was being pointed at your head."

Kate had chills.

"After Castle knocked the guy out, he checked on you, discovered you weren't breathing and started CPR. We reached you guys while that was going on."

"He saved my life." Kate whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

"Twice today, actually." Ryan replied.

"How is he?"

"Fine. Sixteen stitches, should be no scar the doc said."

"How did he get hurt?"

"Best we can figure, when Castle knocked the gun out of the kid's hand, it went up in the air and hit Castle in the head before it hit the floor. Lucky it didn't knock him out." Esposito answered.

Kate nodded her head. She had a lump in her throat and couldn't quite decide how she should feel. She was grateful, of course; she wasn't ready to die. She was also angry, but she couldn't tell if it was directed inward or outward.

As if on cue, there was a soft knock on the door and Castle entered. "Hey." His eyes sparkled a little bit more, seeing her there awake, but he was still worried. "How are you?"

"I think I can answer that question best," the doctor answered entering the room. She had a handful of x-rays in her hand. Placing them up on the light boards, she turned to Kate, "Do they need to leave while we discuss your condition?"

Castle held his breath. No. I need to know she's okay.

"No. It's okay. They're nosy; they would find out anyway." Kate jibed.

Castle exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Kate shot a glance his way.

Dr. Wiggins explained that Beckett had sustained minor injuries: three cracked ribs and a concussion. "We'd like to keep you overnight for observation."

"No," Beckett answered curtly, drawing all eyes to her. "I really can't stay. There has to be a way I can go home."

"Detective Beckett, you live alone. I cannot in good conscience let you leave without knowing that someone will be with you at all times for the next 24 hours."

Kate thought for a second. "I have a friend who can come stay with me. She's a doctor." She left out the part about Lanie only having experience with corpses.

Dr. Wiggins nodded her head, and then looked at the four men in the room. "Which one of you will be taking her home?"

"I will," Castle replied, "and I'll stay until Dr. Parish gets there." He was really hoping he would be able to take Kate to his apartment so he could watch over her there, but she did have a boyfriend who hated him, so that probably wasn't the most prudent idea.

Kate met his eyes. Part of her wanted to object, but the other part was relieved that she would be able to talk to him about today.

"I'll send the nurse in with the discharge papers. She will run through the symptoms you should look out for. I'm also writing a prescription for Percocet. No driving."

"Thank you, Doctor" Kate answered.

Yes, thank you doctor. Castle thought. Best news I've had all day.