It was like listening underwater. Later, when Rick told her the story, he said he had heroically shoved everyone aside to get to her immediately, but Kate didn't quite remember it that way. She remembered the percussive blast and the blinding light. And while she was thoroughly disorientated by everything she realised someone was grabbing her and pulling her up, while someone else was cutting her free. She couldn't feel her body at that point. She was dragged and she was vaguely aware that someone was talking to her. She couldn't hear what they said.
Then she was in a store, with clothes and mannequins and that was when she saw Rick, rushing towards her, looking half crazed as he knelt in front of her. Somehow she was on the ground and she practically fell into his arms as he grabbed her. His hand soothed and his chest was solid. Kate remembered a sense of relief, but everything was coming at her from so far away. She closed her eyes, realising that if Rick was there then she had to be safe, and he had to be safe. When she woke up again she was in a hospital. And Rick was still right there with her.
"Hey," she greeted him, that overwhelming feeling of warmth and relief at seeing him.
Rick had been staring absently at the floor but his head came up quickly. His expression went quickly from surprise to relief. Kate reached out her hand, smiled, and Rick slid his large fingers into hers. It looked like his eyes were a little watery. "Hey," he nearly whispered.
"You're here," Kate murmured.
"Yeah I'm here."
"You're ok?"
"I'm ok? You're ok."
Kate couldn't feel much of her body but when she shifted a little where she lay, she felt everything. Her head, her cheek, her ribs, her wrists. "What's the damage?"
"Bruises, cuts, nothing broken," but Rick's voice wavered.
"How long was I gone?"
"About fifteen hours."
Was that all?
"It felt longer."
Rick nodded. "Kate," he leaned forward urgently. "We got him. We got him, Kate."
"Maddox?"
"No. Not Maddox. The Dragon Kate," his eyes were earnest.
She closed her lids, her head swimming for a moment. She wasn't sure what to think.
"Kate?" Rick whispered. "Are you ok? Shall I get a doctor?"
She opened her eyes again, gave him a reassuring squeeze with her fingers. "No, I'm ok," she murmured. "Tell me about it later ok?"
"Uh, ok," Rick agreed but it was obvious he was surprised and confused.
"I want to know you're ok."
"I am ok Kate. I'm fine. I was worried about you but I'm fine. Everything's ok now," his voice was low and soothing.
"But," Kate frowned. "You weren't hurt?"
"No," Rick shook his head, the confusion still on his face. "How could I be hurt? I was nowhere near there."
"You weren't there?"
"No." A pause. "You thought I was there?"
"I saw you."
"No," Rick shook his head again. "I wasn't there. I was at the twelfth, helping to find you."
So then who was it she had seen? Or what? She had seen something. Maddox had shown her explicitly. She hadn't imagined it. But if it wasn't Rick then it was just an illusion, a good one, on Maddox's part, meant to screw with her. And she had totally fallen for it.
"They just took you," Rick went on and told her his side of the story from the moment they had parted company.
"You called in Shaw?"
"Yeah," Rick gave a confident nod.
"I called her earlier."
"When?"
"To run that number for me."
Rick shifted his chair closer a little. Well that would help explain why Shaw came as soon as he called. She was already in on it.
"Is she still here?"
"No she had to leave. She was in the middle of a case."
"I owe her one."
Rick didn't respond. Settled again in his seat, he brought up his left hand to hers and smoothed his thumb over her skin. "I was so scared."
"I know," Kate told him. "Me too." Rick's face went stricken. "Come here," Kate demanded lightly. She pulled on his hands as he stood, bringing him in closer and raised a hand to draw in his head so she could kiss him. She felt the little huff of Rick's delight against her mouth. He was gentle with her but there was still a sharp stab of pain and Kate turned her head. "Ow," she breathed.
Rick's eyes were concerned. Kate brought fingers to her lip, feeling the split skin. "Yeah kissing me can sometimes be a bit intense," Rick quipped and sat back. Kate managed a smile.
"No one else was hurt?" She asked.
"No. Well, the owner of the dressmaking business is still missing," Rick looked a little down cast.
"Tall guy?"
"Uh yeah."
"I think he was there." Kate told him her side of the story. Between them both, they filled in the timeline properly. Kate ducked her gaze for a moment, her heart heavy. "Did you really get him?"
Rick blinked at her for a moment. "Yes. He's a former Senator."
Kate felt heavier. She had missed it then. All of that time and effort and heartache, and she had missed the most crucial moment. Yes, she had chosen to walk away but as soon as she had, everything came undone. Like it was just waiting for her to give up.
"Shaw has agent's watching him right now," Rick's eyes widened in excitement as he went on.
"Wait," Kate interrupted. "You haven't arrested him yet?"
"No. We're waiting for you."
Kate wanted to kiss him again but if she even breathed too hard she ached. There was no way she could manage lunging for him. "You waited for me?" Her voice sounded small and vulnerable even to herself.
"Yeah," Rick confirmed softly. "It wouldn't be right if you weren't there. Shaw has people watching him. She has other people going through 'the file'. She has another case to wrap up and it's kind of delicate timing but if you're up for it..."
"I'm up for it," Kate started to sit.
"Then Shaw said you can make the arrest," Rick finished. He stood and helped Kate sit, warning her to take it easy. She shot him a partial glare; what did he think she was doing? "The FBI will take custody but Jordan said you should take the credit."
Kate panted to ease away the pain. Her ribs were killing her. "Are you sure nothing's broken?"
"Not broken," Rick said quietly. "Badly bruised but not broken." He hovered protectively.
"Am I allowed out of here?" Kate looked up at him.
"Yeah the doctor was optimistic about discharging you later. So long as you don't suddenly take a turn for the worse." Kate half raised an eyebrow. "You know, start bleeding out of your ears or something."
Kate wanted to laugh, but seriously, she was in pain.
"Hey sleeping beauty is awake," Ryan said as he and Esposito came into Kate's room.
"Bout time," Esposito added.
Kate gave them a slight smile of greeting, noting that Esposito had his badge on its chain around his neck. It gave her a sense of relief.
"Hey so Shaw was wondering how you're doing?" Kevin went on, his eyes going to Rick's who gave a nod. Yes, he'd talked to her about it already.
"I'm fine guys," Kate told them.
"Cos things are progressing our end right on schedule," Javier added. "Unless you're not up for it? Maybe you wanna take a few more days to lie around in bed?"
"Oh I am up for it," Kate responded confidently. "If you perves could maybe give me some privacy to get dressed."
Esposito scoffed and turned for the door. "As if we'd be looking."
"Married," Ryan waved his left hand as he also turned away. "Not interested."
They both trooped out and Kate turned to Rick. She gripped his hand and saw he was smiling. "Good to see some things haven't changed," Rick said.
"Rick," Kate started.
"Oh yeah, Esposito got reinstated. I think he's got a warning on his file or something but..."
"No not that. I can't make the arrest."
"Sure you can. We'll get you some really good pain meds," he wiggled his eyebrows at her. "You know, the really good ones."
"No Castle, I'm not a cop remember?"
He stared at her for a moment. As if he had forgotten. He had forgotten. "You can talk to Gates."
"No," Kate shook her head.
"She likes you a lot you know."
Kate's eyebrow went up in surprised disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"
"I'm not," Rick answered seriously. "She... told me."
"What was the hesitation for?"
"It was kind of strange actually. But she said you were one of the best detectives she'd ever seen. I think she was going to tell me she wanted you back," Rick surmised. Kate gave a scoff. "No really." He realised that was why Gates had come to tell him Kate had resigned. And why she had come to tell him how highly she rated Detective Beckett. She wanted him to talk Kate into asking for her job back.
"I don't think Gates would be interested in backing down," Kate started to protest.
"Don't assume too much Detective without evidence to back up your theory," Gates said from the doorway.
Rick felt Kate's hand tighten on his arm for a second. He wondered if that was the surprise or some sort of fear. He certainly felt like the teacher had just busted him for talking about her and saying mean things. Gates met Rick's eye and he turned to Kate. "Let me go find the doctor," he muttered and started to move away. Kate's hand lingered on his, as if it were saying 'no don't leave me', but he kept moving and quickly. Then he stood outside the door and listened.
Gates said something about having no idea so much was going on in her own precinct without her knowledge. She mentioned 'the file', all those years of detective work. Kate explained 'the file', which she still hadn't seen, wasn't actually her work. Gates said Ryan and Esposito had apprised her of what was in 'the file', what Kate had discovered herself, and how involved the guys had become since working with her on her mother's case a few years ago.
"And Castle," Kate added. "He made the initial breakthrough that led us to Coonan."
Gates said something Rick didn't quite catch. Possibly something about underestimating him, which would have made him smile if he weren't distracted by an overhead announcement. He missed the rest of Gates' dialogue. Kate said Rick had an amazing mind for details and that had become an absolutely integral part of her team. Rick could totally picture Gates' expression after that comment; pursed lips, staring black eyes.
"He'd make a terrible cop," Gates said next and Kate laughed. And then to Rick's shock, so did Iron Gates!
"His heart is in the right place," Kate said.
"I can see that," Gates admitted. "He'd be welcome at the twelfth anytime." And then they talked about why Kate had quit and what would bring her back. She talked a little about dishonouring the badge, repeating what she had told Rick just yesterday (seriously, had it only been yesterday?), but she also added that she felt like she had lost control of herself and that she had no business being in a precinct if she was going to behave like that. She had been there before, it wasn't fair to do that again. She felt some time away from being a detective would be a good idea. Look at the mess she had got herself in.
Gates said she saw a driven and brilliant detective who thought she could carry a case on her own without the support of her Captain. Rick could imagine Kate looking away in shame. She didn't hang her head like most people, she looked away to the side, avoiding the eye, but still retaining a little defiance. He liked that fierceness about her. Gates also told Kate that if she needed time off she could take it and that if she wanted her badge back, it would be there waiting for her. But for now, the paperwork for her resignation hadn't gone through and so, if she were present while executing an arrest warrant that afternoon, it wouldn't be illegal, just maybe a little fuzzy.
Kate thanked the Captain and the Captain said she was glad Kate was ok. Gates told her to think about her badge but not to leave it too long. Kate said she wouldn't. Rick heard the older woman approaching the door and startled away a few steps. "Mr Castle," Gates said before she had even left the room. Rick waited for her to approach him. "Did you hear most of that?"
"Uh yeah most of it."
Gates gave a firm nod, her dark brown eyes steady on his and again, he got the impression that she was relying on him to talk Kate into taking her job back. Pretty presumptuous. Also accurate.
Gates walked away and Rick headed back into Kate's room. She was pushing back the covers, wincing as she did so. Rick hurried to her side, helping with the blanket. "Want to wait for the doctor to give you the all clear?"
Kate shook her head, gritting her teeth. "No," she huffed, letting her feet drop over the side of the bed. "I have an arrest to gate crash."
"What are you going to do about your job Kate?" Rick helped move her legs. Yes, he let his hands linger a while on her thighs.
Kate looked up at him. "Think about it." But she was not missing that arrest. She really could not go through all of that only to miss the ultimate moment. She was aware of what she had told Rick, the promise to walk away but... He would understand this right?
