Author's Note: Sorry, this one's kind of short, but I cranked this one out during a break from studying. This just kind of shows what Kate and Rick are thinking after Josh gets kicked out. The next chapter will be longer and YES we will have some Caskett time without interruptions from Josh (finally!). Still hope you like this one and you should be used to reading it now, but, please, review and subscribe!
The nurse ruled that no one was to enter Beckett's room for the next half hour until she deemed that Kate maintained a steady heartbeat for the allotted amount of time. Castle sighed, trying to hide his disappointment. He'd waited for Josh to finish visiting, keeping his cool knowing that it would be a short ten minutes later when he could have some one on one time with her. Instead, to Castle's chagrin/glee, Doctor Motorcycle Boy had been unceremoniously kicked out by the nurse, who had deemed his presence as too unsettling for Ms. Beckett. He'd left the room without comment, except to say that he was going to get something to eat and was unsure of when he would return. The only downside was that there yet more of a wait to visit Kate. Castle sat down and rested his elbow on his knee and his head on his palm. He stayed his eyes at Kate's bed and watched her chest move up and down as she inhaled and exhaled with help (he cringed inwardly) from a respirator. He settled himself and thought that there was no better person and no better time to creepily stare at her. But this time there would be no sharp voice to stop him.
Kate exhaled with relief as Josh turned the corner and was gone from her sight. She mentally smiled as the nurse mandated that no one was to enter her room for the next thirty minutes. Good, she thought. She needed time to think. This time, this issue could not be left as uncertain. She needed to know: had Rick's proclamation been a spur of the moment, hastily made decision that he didn't even mean, or possibly regretted? Or did what he say speak truth and he found her gun shot incident to be the only time to say what he'd been holding back?
She couldn't go on, not knowing. She'd do something rash, like force herself to have some feelings for him. And she didn't want to do that. She cared for Josh. Josh was a good guy, handsome, and wanted to make the world a better place. But she couldn't stay in a relationship with him if she didn't know where she and Castle stood. Kate was going to take a leap, coerce him into saying what he felt. Because if she'd learned anything from Montegomery in the past few days, it was to learn where people stood. And it was time for her to find out where her relationship stood with Rick Castle.
Thirty two minutes after the nurse had declared the new visiting laws, Castle was getting antsy. With the nurse no where in sight, Castle decided to take liberties and visit Kate, if only to let her know that he was there. And always would be. He strode into the room and sat on yet another hard mint colored chair that the hospital seemed to have an endless supply of. Her hand lay by her side and he tentatively laid his hand upon hers, afraid to wake her or invoke her fury at his audacity of taking her hand. Kate's leg moved and her eyes fluttered open. He felt his heart surge and he threw on a big smile as she turned her head towards him.