Chapter 7: Hurry, baby
"Castle, get up." Kate said, gently stroking Rick's hair "Castle."
"No, Kate, let me sleep." He mumbled, turning around on the bed.
"Castle, baby, you need to get up." Kate said, fastening her belt and grabbing her gun from the nightstand. "Castle!" she yelled, trying one last time. "Okay." She said, and lowered down to his level, pulling his ear with one fast movement.
"God!" Rick yelled, jumping off the bed. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his ear.
"You need to get up." She said "I gotta go to work and you need to pack."
"I still can't believe you didn't want to go on a honeymoon and now we're stuck in New York during one of the worst hurricanes the town has ever seen."
"We did have a honeymoon, Castle."
"A week in the Hamptons is NOT a honeymoon."
"Yes it is."
"No, it isn't."
"Whatever, Castle. I need to get going." She said, walking out of the room, Rick following her closely. "I left you a list of everything we'll need. Don't overpack, make sure you get everything, and call Jenny to tell her when we'll arrive."
"Are Lanie and Espo coming with us?"
"Lanie is, Espo is not. He's volunteering for the after-storm aid."
"Alright then." He said, leaving over to plant a kiss on her lips. "Have a nice day."
"I will. Bye."
…
"Kate, where are you?" Rick asked, over the phone. "I told Jenny we'd be there an hour ago."
"I got hung up on a case, sorry." She answered "we still have a few more people to question, I can't leave now."
"Kate, we need to get out of town!" Rick said, mildly panicked.
"I know, and we will. The chaos won't start until at least eleven. It's still seven. You go ahead and take the girls and Lanie, and I'll meet you there."
"No way. We'll wait for you."
"Castle, no. Quinn will be tired, and you know she's not the easiest when tired. Go. Please. I'm asking you to."
"Fine. But promise me you'll leave before nine."
"I promise."
"Okay. Bye, love you."
…
"Daddy, why mommy no come?" Quinn asked, from the backseat of Rick's Volvo. Alexis was sitting next to her, doing her best to keep the little girl entertained, but Quinn wasn't easily distracted. She was always paying attention, always looking, always listening.
"Mommy had to work for a little bit longer, baby." Rick answered, his voice heavy with concern. He hated leaving her behind, he really did, but Kate was always one to care for herself, and she was right, the girls needed to be safe.
"But she'll meet us there, sweetheart." Lanie said, reassuring not only Quinn, but everyone in the car. "And you'll see aunt Jenny, and uncle Kevin, and your little baby cousin, too!" she continued, trying to cheer Quinn up.
"Henny?" Quinn asked, clutching her toy bear tightly.
"Yes, Henry." Lanie answered.
"Yay!" Quinn cheered, throwing her little arms in the air and kicking Rick's seat.
"Quinn, please don't kick my seat." Rick asked, dryly. He hated when his emotions got the best, but it was out of his hands, and they'd have to deal with it.
"Sorry, daddy." Quinn said "Daddy mad?" she asked Alexis in a whisper.
"No, Quinn." Alexis answered, grabbing the little girl's hand "How about we sing a song?"
"I guess."
"Dad, can you turn on the radio?" Alexis asked. Rick turned the radio on, and connected his phone to the system, handing it to Alexis.
"Okay, you know that one." She told Quinn, selecting a song.
They say we're young and we don't know, and won't find out until we grow
"But I don't know if all that's true, 'cause you got me and baby I got you." Alexis sang.
"Babe, I got you babe." Quinn joined her, singing softly.
Alexis took both of Quinn's hands and gently shook them, doing a little dance.
"They say our love won't pay the rent , before it's earned, our money's all been spent." They sang, being joined by Lanie.
"I guess that's so, we don't have a pot, but at least I'm sure of all the things we go." The trio sang, just as Rick announced they'd arrived to their destination.
…
"Yeah, I'm leaving now. Uh-huh. Yeah, I know. Just a few more minutes, Castle. Okay, bye." Kate pressed the 'end call' button on her phone and sighed. She'd promised Rick to leave before nine, but the suspect wasn't exactly cooperative and it took her a lot longer than she expected. It was almost ten, but there was no way she could stay in town. Mayor Bloomberg had told everyone who could to evacuate the town, and she wasn't one to ignore recommendations, especially now that she had a husband and children. "Espo, I'm heading out." She yelled.
"You sure, chica? The storm is almost here." Espo said.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. See you in a few days, okay?"
"Good night."
…
"Okay, we're waiting. See you in a few." Rick said, hanging up the phone. He was sitting in Kevin and Jenny's living room, watching the children. Kevin and Jenny had recently moved to a house in Westchester, which would be very lightly hit by the hurricane. So not only the Ryan family was bunking there, but also the Castles, the Harrisons (Jenny's sister's family) and a few other friends of theirs, who also lived in the city.
"Rick." Jenny called, entering the living room "We're going to split tasks."
"But Kate isn't here yet." Rick protested.
"I know, and we'll wait for her, but we need to get organized." Jenny explained. A few moments later, everyone in the house was gathered in the room, waiting for Jenny's orders. "Lanie, you make sure the flashlights are charged and that we have enough candles and matches in hand. Apparently, we'll be out of power for about three days." Jenny said "Amelia, you take care of the food." Jenny said, looking at her older sister "Kevin, Omar and Brian, safety is on you. Doors, windows and everything in between." Jenny said, to her husband, brother-in-law and close friend. "Rick and I will watch the kids." She continued "Alexis, you go get towels and blankets and make sure we have enough water." Alexis nodded "Alright, everyone, let's go!" Jenny shouted, and suddenly, everyone was out of the room "She's on her way, Rick."
"I know."
Tommy, Amelia and Omar's four-year-old son approached the two of them, a scared look in his face.
"Uncle Rick?"
"Yes Tommy?"
"Are we gonna die?" Tommy asked, a lot louder than he should. Quinn knew what dying meant, and so did Jenny's other niece, Emma. The two little girls startled and ran over to their sides.
"No, nobody is going to die." Rick said, scooping Quinn up "We're all going to be just fine." He assured them "Now you go play for a little bit, okay?"
"Okay." Tommy said, grabbing both girls by their hands and leading them to the impromptu play space.
"Do you mind if I feed Henry?" Jenny asked, gently rocking the fussy little boy in her arms.
"No, not at all." He answered "You know, Kate and I are thinking about having a baby."
"Seriously?" Jenny asked, unbuttoning her nursing top "Rick, that's amazing!"
"Yeah, it is."
…
"Shit." Kate sighed, as she listed to the forecast on the radio. It wasn't looking good, and there was no way she would get to Westchester before the storm hit. "Phone, phone, phone, where's my phone?!" she asked herself, going through the contents of her purse. She finally found it, and attempted to call Rick before she realized there was no signal. "Shit!" she yelled, throwing her phone back in her purse. The rain was already pretty bad, and she almost missed the elderly lady trying to stop her car. She rolled her window down, and immediately regretted the decision. "Can I help you?"
"Miss, you need to stop! You can't keep driving, it's too dangerous! The storm is coming!" the woman yelled, through the rain.
"I can't stop, lady." Kate said, even though she knew she wouldn't make it to the Ryan's, at least not tonight.
"You must! Please, come inside! I own a bed and breakfast, some others are bunking there. Please come!"
"Alright." Kate said "Thank you. Can I give you a ride?" Kate asked, keeping her gun in arm's reach.
"Thanks." The woman said, entering the car "I'm Hazel."
"Kate" she said "Lead the way."
…
"Dammit!" Rick yelled.
"Rick, what's wrong?" Jenny asked.
"I can't reach Kate."
"Calm down. Reception must be sucky, I'm sure she's almost here."
"Guys." Omar called "We need to get going."
"No!" Rick said "Kate's not here yet."
"Rick, we need to go." Jenny, said after looking at the window. The sky was completely gray, and she could see things flying everywhere.
"Look after Quinn for me." He asked, before storming out the door.
"Rick!" Jenny yelled, uselessly. "Call Brian!" Brian Appleby was a six feet tall, huge man, with a kind heart and soft eyes. Jenny knew Rick well enough to know that he wouldn't come back if she called, and it would take someone to bring him back.
…
"The storm wasn't supposed to be this bad by now." Kate said, sitting on the floor next to a very pregnant young woman.
"I know. I was supposed to meet my mom at her house to talk about my baby shower. I didn't think I'd be stuck in here." The girl said "Hi, I'm Jade."
"I'm Kate." She answered "How far along are you?" Kate asked, trying to keep her mind away from the fact that she couldn't talk to her family.
"Thirty-seven weeks." Jade answered, rubbing a hand through her stomach.
"Do you know what you're having?"
"It's a girl."
"I have a little girl." Kate said "Her name is Quinn."
"Where is she?"
"With her father. Somewhere safe."
"Good."
"Yeah." Kate heard a loud noise and then, only a scream saying, 'get down!'
…
"Rick, get back here!" Brian ordered
"I'm going to get Kate!" Rick yelled
"Rick! You're gonna get yourself killed!" Brian shouted, before walking over to Rick and grabbing him by the arm.
"Brian, let me go!"
"I would, but I promised Jenny I'd bring you back."
"Let me go!" Rick yelled, but Brian was too strong.
"Come on!" Brian said, dragging Rick inside the house and into the basement.
"Fuck you!" Rick yelled, tears rolling down his cheeks
Brian ignored him and closed the door behind them, leading the way inside the dark room, which revealed the large group of people.
"I need to go get her…" Rick cried, throwing his body against a wall and sliding down, until he hit the floor.
Everyone watched, but no one knew what to do. No one knew where Kate was, and they knew better than thinking the best.
"Daddy? Why cry?" Quinn asked, walking over to Rick to give him a hug "No cry."
He wrapped his arms around Quinn's tiny body and cried even more. His sobs were heart-wrenching and even though no one knew if Kate was alright, they were fairly sure she wasn't.
…
"How long has it been?" Jade asked Kate, closing her eyes and leaning against the wall.
"A couple of hours." Kate answered. They hadn't moved since. There were about ten people in Hazel's basement, all strangers to one another, and all completely terrified.
"When are we going to get out of here?" Jade asked, even though she knew no one had an answer to that. Tears started forming in her eyes, and Kate wondered how she'd kept it together for so long.
"Hey." Kate said "Tell me about your daughter. What are you going to name her?"
"We think… we think Carolyn." Jade answered, slowly.
"That's pretty. And have you set up her nursery already?" Kate asked, doing her best to keep the young woman from breaking down. She wouldn't be able to handle it, and would end up crashing as well.
"Yeah."
"And what's it like?"
"Pink." Jade said "Pink with lilac butterflies."
"That's adorable." Kate ran out of questions to ask. She needed to talk to Castle, she needed to tell him she was okay. But there was no signal. "Do you wanna see a picture of my daughter?" Jade nodded and Kate selected a picture of Quinn on her phone. The little girl was wearing a pink twirly dress, and was sitting on Alexis' lap. It was one of Kate's favorites. "This little one is Quinn and the older girl is Alexis, our oldest." Kate said, not feeling the need to say she was Alexis' stepmother.
"They're gorgeous." Jade said.
"Thanks. They are." Kate said, just as she spotted the tiny little bar on the top left corner of her phone. She had signal. "Oh god. There's signal." She said, and quickly typed a message to Rick.
…
It had been two hours. Two hours since Rick was sitting in a dark corner, sobbing uncontrollably. He hadn't heard from Kate, and by then, he only expected a call from some cop saying they found her body.
"Rick, you need to eat something." Jenny said, offering him a sandwich.
"I'm not hungry, Jenny." He said, clutching his phone. There was hope, sure there was, but when you can't reach your wife during a hurricane, you kind of lose your senses.
"Rick, she's going to call. Maybe she stopped somewhere safe." Jenny tried, giving him a compassionate look.
Rick didn't bother saying anything, because he doubted his ability to deal with her positivity. He was usually the half-full kind of guy, but right then, there was no half-full. There was no half-empty. There was not even a glass.
Rick's phone made a small noise, but he didn't bother to look at it.
"Rick!"
"What, Jenny!?"
"Look! It's from Kate!" Jenny said, pointing at the phone.
I'm safe , the message read, in all caps.
"She's safe." Rick said, sighing in relief "She's safe."
Author's Note: I suck. I'm erratic, annoying and I write this awful AN's that you probably don't even read. But still, this chapter is here, and I have the next three mapped off. Maybe I'll re-achieve a pace. Maybe. I hope. Review, please?
