The ceiling loft began to shift into gradual focus. The distant and foreign voices echoing in Kate's ears translated into intelligible articulation. Kate soon became aware of the stabbing pain in her head as she strived to blot away the residual distortion in her vision. For a moment she dared to hope that she'd awoken from a nothing beyond a nightmare. That the preceding thirty-six hours, in waking reality, never transpired.

"Ugh… Ma tête." Kate grumbled as she pressed her hands over her face. She failed to recognize that her expression had escaped in French instead of her intended English. Her concern grew once Castle's anxious face achieved lucidity.

"Kate?"

"Hmm?" She answered, her attempt to sit upright stifled by her husband's overprotectiveness.

"It's been a while since I've heard you use French." The inflection in his tone betrayed him, instigating the distress within her.

"What are you talking about? I didn't… Castle, if this is a joke it's not funny." She opposed endeavoring to veil her panic.

"You groaned and said my head in French."

It surprised Kate when the voice offering clarification didn't belong to Castle. Her mother crouched beside her and offered her the glass of water in her hand. Kate took the glass from Johanna and sat up to drink, grateful for Castle's supportive hand against her unsteady back. Her head screamed with vehemence in protest of her new position.

"I could have sworn I spoke English." Kate sighed reclining into Castle, her hands shrouding her eyes. "Those lights are blinding."

"You forget that you're not the only one who's fluent in French, Katie. Rick called your friend Lanie. She'll be here any minute to examine you and make sure you're okay."

Kate found it strange how in this situation Johanna fell back into her maternal role with such ease. Her violent headache allowed no room for protest. Kate didn't debate her need of a doctor, her worry more for the baby than herself.

"Kate! I came as soon as I could." Lanie exclaimed rushing into the loft.

"Thanks, Lanie. I would be a mess without you."

"You're just now figuring this out." Lanie teased with a wink then knelt next to Kate. "Alright, let's take look at your head…"

Kate winced when Lanie's fingers contacted the tender region of her scalp.

"Okay this part isn't going to be fun. I need to check your pupils."

"Okay." Kate consented bracing herself for an incursion pain.

The light seared Kate's eyes and amplified the stabbing ache within her skull. She felt her ability to keep her eyes open waning when Lanie pulled the light from her eyes. Her instincts compelling her to return to the soothing darkness of eyes closed.

"Well, Kate, you have a concussion and by the looks of it you need more sleep and fluids too."

Before Kate could open her mouth to protest Lanie interjected.

"Ah, now don't give me any excuses. Writer Boy told me what's going on here."

Kate understood and even appreciated the fact that Castle disclosed the news about their baby to Lanie. She understood that under ordinary circumstances, it would be their secret until the time was right. But the definition of this situation proved far from ordinary.

"You have my full cooperation."

"Good. Now, we need to look at a few things to make sure everything's still okay with baby Castle."

Castle breathed a sigh of relief once he knew the baby was safe and healthy. Kate would need some time to recover from her concussion. As much as he yearned to hold her as she slept, he knew that it was vital that she not fall asleep until it was safe for her to. He drank in her beauty, even worn down she still proved a tableau of immaculate masterpiece.

Kate loved the way her husband ran gentle fingertips through her silken hair. It eased her rigid frame and ushered in a serenity that she craved. The interminable chaos allotted no time for Kate to gather her bearing. She strove to muster what strength remain as she once again faced the mandatory exit from her everyday life. She didn't know how she could manage this, but placed unwavering certainty in one truth. The truth that with Richard Castle at her side, she could conquer anything. If she couldn't leave their life behind for her, then she would for him and their family. Regardless of her mother's role in this their safety would always be her priority.