I can't thank you all enough! You're amazing! And i'm so sorry i haven't managed to get back to you all with a huge thank you! And Andrea, i'm with you on the holodec idea! How much fun would that be to play with!
There's a little artistic licence in this chappy, i don't think a certain family member has been mentioned on the show so i hope this fits in ok.
And on that cryptic note...
Detective Kevin Ryan always knew when he was someplace he probably shouldn't be. His mother always scolded him for sleeping over at friend's houses whom she never approved of. Then, in later life, she scolded him for staying over with women she never approved of. The curse of an Irish mother. But he loved her, and it was thanks to her and her scolding that he knew the second his mind became aware, that he wasn't somewhere she would approve of. His body still slept on, obvious to it's mind trying to decipher the dilemma of just where the hell it was.
Smells eluded him, thanks to something very strange blocking his nose. He tried to focus on what ever the hell was causing the obstruction, but as sweet oxygen was flowing into his lungs he decided that the whatever-the-hell wasn't worth focusing on right now. He turned his attention to sounds. There were distant voices, many and varied. That meant he wasn't alone. For that he was more than thankful. There was a steady beat, not too loud to be annoying, but loud enough to make its self known.
A paper rustled.
Someone cleared their throat.
Snoring? He listened carefully. Yep, definitely snoring. The sound was unmistakeable.
Javier.
Satisfied he wasn't alone, and if Javier was sleeping then there was nothing to worry about, Kevin allowed his mind to drift along the path his body had taken. As sleep over took him he knew he was safe.
Kevin had no idea how long he'd drifted. It could have been one hour, or ten. When he awoke the second time he was aware of the same things as before so guessed he'd only been asleep a couple of hours. There was still the rustling of paper in the background, still the distant voices. The snoring had stopped, replaced by someone tapping out a beat to a song only they could hear.
Kevin wanted to open his eyes, to see just where the hell he really was. The whatever-the-hell was still in his nose. This time he was more aware, enough at least to guess he was in a hospital.
Which led him to conclude that the noises around him where that of his team. A voice confirmed his suspicions.
"Castle? Pass the sports section."
Beckett.
"I don't have it."
Castle.
"Esposito?"
More rustling. Something leaned over him. A weight settled on his arm.
Javier.
He wanted, more than anything, to open his eyes. Something heavy weighed them down. An all consuming tiredness that he was waging a losing battle with. He wanted to get away from the grip his exhaustion had on him. Was determined to walk out of the darkness and into the light.
His leg twitched.
At the same time Esposito noticed the movement, the pain that had been lurking in the distance leapt forward at such speed that Kevin felt the exhaustion run away to hide as enough adrenalin surged through his body to give him the push to open his eyes.
He gave a muffled sound of displeasure as his leg protested the movement.
"Kevin? Hey, bro."
The injured man opened his eyes to find Javier leaning over him, concern dripping from his features. Kevin kept his eyes focused on his partner, his anchor stopping him from falling into an abyss of pain. Javier glanced up and motioned to someone. A door slid open, footsteps, receding into the distance.
"Kev, I need you to focus on me, ok? Beckett's gone to get the nurse."
"Javier?" Questioned Kevin around a dry mouth and uncooperative tongue.
"It's ok. We're ok now. It's over."
"You guys had yourselves one hell of a day." Said Castle as he leaned over into Kevin's line of sight. "You made it out whole though."
"Well, aside from one hell of a gash in your leg." Javier smiled warmly down at the injured detective.
"Yes, and Esposito managed to get himself a couple of stitches in that thick head of his."
"Castle, my man Kevin does NOT need to be hearing that right now."
"No, but he needs to know you're ok, let's face it half your face was covered in blood so he'll need some reassurance there wasn't any brain damage."
"Brain damage?"
"Well it is kind of hard to tell with you."
"I'll tell you who has the brain damage, Castle."
"Oh really? I wasn't the one hit upside his hard, hard head."
"I'll show you just how hard this head is if you keep it up, Ricky."
"Oh you did just not call me that."
"What you gonna do, hard head?"
Kevin watched the exchange through heavy eyes. The pain had receded enough that he could breathe normally. Although he decided that no way was he even attempting to move again. For a very long time. His eyes flicked from one bickering man to the other, a small smile played on his dry lips. Javier was sat on the bed to the right of Kevin, his arm resting on the other side of Kevin's body. His partner was in full on protection mode. Castle stood on the left, leaning down on the railing. Both men were trying to hide very relieved smiles as they attempted to glare at each other.
"S' hard to pick."
"What's that, bro?" Javier leaned closer, his partner's voice barely above a whisper.
"Hard to pick." Kevin swallowed as he tried to finish his sentence. "Which one has the" he paused again, swallowed. "Harder head." He smiled, fully and completely at his two partners.
Castle reached out and snagged a small cup off the side table. He scooped up a few ice cubes and dropped them into the very grateful mouth of the parched detective.
"You know. Esposito and I are going to take offence to that. But not until you're healed enough to take a beating."
Kevin laughed, it was a soft sound, barely audible but it was music to Javier's ears. Castle caught the older detective's eye and winked.
"Detective Ryan." Greeted a small nurse as she entered the room, followed closely by Beckett. "Good to see you awake. How you feeling?"
"Ok." Kevin whispered as he frowned at the woman. There was something very familiar about her. Something that reminded him of Lanie. He watched her closely as she checked readings on the monitor, took his blood pressure and fiddled with his IV. She even looked like Lanie.
The injured detective shot a look at his partner. Javier was smiling broadly.
Kevin closed his eyes. He was too tired to try to figure out what the hell the joke was he was so clearly missing. Gentle taps on his cheek coaxed his eyes to open.
"Detective Ryan? I need you to stay awake just for a little while longer? Ok?"
He sighed, nodded and closed his eyes.
The nurse tapped his cheek again. Ok, whether or not she looked like Lanie, he really didn't care right now. She was damned annoying and all he wanted to do was forget the pain in his leg and get the hell back to sleep.
Castle and Beckett frowned at each other. Javier kept on grinning. The nurse grinned back.
"Esposito?" Questioned Kate. "Something you wanna share?"
The grinning detective glanced at the nurse, who winked back. Ok, now Kate was really intrigued. She looked to Castle for help but the writer seemed just as perplexed as she was.
"Ah, I see you're awake!" Exclaimed a tall English doctor as he strode into the room. "How's the pain?"
Kevin glanced up, decided he couldn't be bothered to speak and looked to Javier for help.
"Hey doc, think he's in quite a lot of pain right now."
"Well, think we can fix that right up for you, Detective." The doctor took the chart from the nurse and made some notations. Castle and Beckett were still looking from the Lanie-looking nurse, to the grinning-like-a-Cheshire-cat-Esposito and back again.
Kevin just stared at the doctor, willing him with the power of his mind to shoot him up with pain killers and do it quick.
The doctor pulled out a syringe, and for a second Kevin was sure he'd tapped into some hidden psychic ability.
"We'll get rid of that pain, let you get right back to sleep. At least then I can get your team to go home. They refused to leave until you'd woken up despite mine and Nurse Parish's protests."
Kevin frowned. Castle pursed his lips. Beckett made an 'Oh' gesture and Javier smiled fully and completely.
Kevin looked to Castle, who took one look at Beckett and nodded in realisation.
Kevin frowned further. Ok, he knew he was drugged and injured, but what the hell had he missed?
The nurse leaned forward as the drugs the doctor had added to his IV started to work their magic. "Sleep well, Kevin. Lanie sends her love."
Lanie.
Lanie Parish.
As the light bulb went off for the second time that day, Kevin smiled in understanding.
"Tell your sister thanks." He whispered as his eyes closed and his body gave up the need for consciousness.
TBC
Only one more chappy to go, but its been one hell of a ride thanks to you guys!
