Winter Heat

Ch. 9: On The Mend

A/N: Sorry about the delay! Long story short, I was having some computer problems last weekend. But that will be fixed in a few weeks when I get my new one. This story is going to wrapping up soon, so stay tuned! Until then, enjoy the latest installment!

As Kate began to wake again, she noticed that everything was different. It was quiet aside from the sound of a beeping machines, she was no longer burning up but freezing cold, and the air smelled of disinfectant. She opened her eyes and couldn't help but squint at the bright lights of the room. She blinked a few times, trying to form a clear image and figure out where she was. A blur of who she assumed was a person moved towards her and she finally understood that she must be in a hospital. She was alive.

As the person came to her side, their image began to clear up and she recognized the man as none other than her father.

Before she could open her mouth to say anything, her father smiled, put a hand on her cheek and said, "Welcome back, Katie." Welcome back? She was beyond confused about how she got out of that burning building and why her father just said that to her.

"Dad? I don't…I don't understand…" She looked to her father and said.

He simply smiled and said, "I'll explain to you later. You just get some rest."

"No! Don't hide it from me! Just tell me the truth!" She began to get worked up, which sent some of the monitors beeping. She wondered why her dad was here and why not Castle…Oh god! What if they killed him and they didn't want to tell her so that she would have the will to live too?

"Sh, okay, okay, I'll tell you what happened. But I think there was someone else who wanted to do the honors." And as if his timing couldn't be any better, Castle quietly opened the door and began making his way into the room. As soon as he realized she was awake, his face lit up and he rushed to her bedside.

"Kate! You're awake!" He exclaimed as he took her hand. She couldn't help but smile and was extremely grateful he was alive. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, his hair was a rumpled mess, but at least he had on some clean clothes. She wasn't sure how long she had been in here, but it was obvious Castle had been by her side the entire time.

"I'll leave you two alone. I have a couple phone calls I need to make," Her father smiled and left the room.

"Castle, I don't understand what happened. My dad just said the weirdest thing to me, and the last thing I remember was…" But she trailed off as all of the memories of being inside that burning building flooded back into her mind and she began to feel overwhelmed. "Give it to me straight."

Castle explained about how Ryan and Esposito found Danielle Thompson and her son up the road and locked in a shed when they went to investigate. It took them a while to figure out how to get into it, and once they did, Danielle warned them of Derek's plan. They called dispatch and rushed back to the shop to find them being held captive inside. Instead of storming in and risk getting everyone shot, they decided to wait for back up. That's when they gunned down Danny and Derek after they came out of the building, and when they learned that she was still inside of it.

"Esposito ran right into that burning mess and made Ryan stay with me. You can imagine how pissed Ryan was about that," Castle smiled. "I still don't know how Esposito did it, but he got you out and was fine. But um…you weren't breathing because of all of the smoke you inhaled." This is where Castle began getting uneasy and she honestly felt terrible that he had to explain this to her and watch it all happen. "I honestly don't remember a lot about what happened after the paramedics got to the scene. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in the waiting room with Martha and Alexis clinging to my arms for comfort. I think Ryan must have called them. I remember calling your dad, and once he arrived here, that's when the doctor's told us…they told us that as in some smoke inhalation cases, you were in a coma."

"How long?" She immediately asked, not sure what to say besides that. It honestly stunned her to hear all of this. It felt like she had only been out for a few hours. Had it been days? Weeks? Months? Now she knew why her dad had told her, 'welcome back.' She had come back from the dead and a vegetative state.

"About 3 days." Phew. Castle squeezed her hand and said, "Hey, it's okay. I know it's a lot to take in. Maybe the rest should wait until later."

"No," She shook her head. "I need to know everything. I should have died in that fire and I want to know how once again, I avoided an imminent death. I need to know what Derek Thompson's motive was all along. Did he and Danny die when Ryan and Esposito gunned him down…"

"Kate, stop!" Castle interrupted her. "You're in no condition for all of this. One thing at a time." She felt stupid as hot tears ran down her cheek but Castle brushed them away.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered to him. "I'm sorry that you had to watch all of that happen." Castle didn't really respond to that as much as he just smiled and pulled her into those muscular arms of his. But she knew he knew he was sorry he had to see that too. "Rick…I want you to ask me again."

"What?" He asked dumbfounded as he pulled away from her.

"Ask me again," She firmly stated.

"Kate, are you serious? Do you not remember how that played out last time I sort of-almost proposed? Here's a refresher: It didn't end well."

"I'm serious, Castle. When I was in that building waiting to die, the only thing I could think of was how I didn't get to say yes to your question, and how our last conversations didn't have the words, "I love you," in them. I'm tired of thinking we've missed our chances with each other. I don't want to wait anymore." And as it had a tendency to do so, there was a knock on the door and they were no longer alone anymore.

"Knock knock, can we come in?" Ryan smiled and poked his head in the room.

She smiled and replied, "Come on in, guys." Ryan and Esposito entered the room.

Of course Esposito took one look at Castle, grinned, and he immediately asked, "Sorry, were we interrupting something?" It was then that Castle snapped back into reality and shook his head.

"So how're you feeling?" Esposito asked as he and Ryan pulled up a couple of chairs. Now that she thought about it, she didn't really feel anything except for sore and drowsy.

"I feel fine. How did you guys get here so quick?"

"Mr. Beckett just called us on our cells as we were pulling in the parking lot," Ryan explained.

"We thought we were going to have to come take Castle home to shower and eat," Esposito said with a smile. She looked to Castle and he just kind of shrugged. That man...

They made small talk and chatted about how the case wrapped up. Castle may have thought he was being subtle, but she saw the warning looks he gave the boys when they started talking about the case. But they told her what she needed to hear: Derek Thompson died, Danny Nixon survived but was facing criminal charges, and the motive apparently behind it all was money.

As she grew tired, there was one last night she wanted to do before her father chased everyone out so she could rest.

"Hey Espo, can I talk to you for second? Alone?" She asked. Castle and Ryan didn't make any sarcastic marks. They simply smiled and left the room. "So I hear you're the one who saved my life," She smiled to Esposito and said.

"Something like that," Esposito teased back.

"Listen, I just wanted to thank you for that," She replied. "Castle told me what you did, and I know how risky it was."

"Hey, you don't have to thank me for that. I was just looking out for family; it wasn't a very hard decision. But if you keep finding yourself in these situations, I don't know how much more Castle's heart can take." When she looked to him, Esposito's eyes looked kind of mischievous, and she couldn't quite place what it was. And that's when she knew: Castle had told them about the proposal.

"He told you!" She exclaimed. Oh how Castle was going to get it...

Esposito smiled and asked, "I saw the way the two of you were looking at each other when Ryan and I walked in. Are congratulations in order now? Or do I need to talk some sense into you?" Luckily he left it at that. He knew that she knew what she had to do. He always there to point out the obvious. Esposito then smiled, rubbed her arm, and told her to get some rest so she could come back to the precinct soon and boss he and Ryan around.

After everyone had left, Castle came back in to say goodnight. He didn't want to leave, but her dad was forcing him to go home to sleep and shower. Before he excited the room, he turned around and said, "Kate, I will ask you again. Soon. But this time I'm going to do it right." A wide grin spread across his face as he disappeared through the door. She caught herself smiling too as she looked over to her dad, who had made himself comfortable in a hospital chair.

"I don't know what he's talking about, Katie, but if it's what I think it is...it's about damn time."