Chapter 9
It's been hours since she squeezed his fingers, but Castle's hand has not disengaged its contact with hers. If even a slight movement occurs again, he wants to feel it.
He needs to ground her.
He needs to ground himself.
Doctor Turow had come by a few times to check on her.
"Everything looks good, Mr. Castle," the female doctor had said, most likely looking at the various monitors. "Her neurological activity is promising."
"Her eyes have opened a couple of times, Doctor..." Castle had muttered, his voice hopeful, yet reserved.
'They did?' How had Kate not realized this?
The kindly neurologist assured the writer that this was perfectly normal. That comatose patients who are in the early stages of re-awakening sometimes show clear - although minimal - signs of cognitive recovery. "Detective Beckett's eyes may open and close several times," the doctor had explained. "However, it would be due most likely to involuntary muscle movement. Her brain might not yet be registering what her eyes are seeing."
"So what do I do?" Castle had asked, the pad of his thumb mapping delicate, tantalizing circles on the inside of her palm.
"Just keep talking to her."
So, he's been doing just that. Talking to her. Telling her stories. Rhyming off random factoids that would normally elicit a roll of the eyes. Revealing utterly ridiculous plot ideas that willnever make an appearance in a Nikki Heat book. Reminiscing about Alexis when she was a child. Recounting what wild and crazy ventures his mother is currently undertaking.
Anything that might keep her mind active. And his occupied.
She's just so uncomfortable. Laying stagnant on the industrial hospital bed. So different than Castle's soft, pillow-top mattress. It's not right. It's not home.
She wants to stretch every muscle in her body.
The cramping in her toes is excruciating.
'God, what I wouldn't give for a foot massage...'
However, her feeling of discomfort is momentary.
'My toes are cramping… Oh My God! CASTLE! I CAN FEEL MY TOES!'
His voice is heavy, hoarse. He's exhausted. Castle desperately needs sleep but is stubbornly refusing to rest. And she understands why. He doesn't want to be asleep if and when she wakes up. Not again.
"Hey, Mr. Castle…"
The familiar voice of Nurse Dees whispers tentatively from the doorway.
"Hey Mickey," Castle greets the nurse. Her fiancé's voice is light, pleasant, no hint of mirth in his expression. Either he is too tired or the fast food joke is no longer funny. Kate suspects a combination of the two. "I told you... please call me Rick."
"Rick…" the young man utters, padding his way towards the bed. "Just thought you could use some caffeine..."
The sound of a cardboard cup contacting the bedside table paired with the aroma of strong coffee teases Kate's taste buds.
"...considering you don't seem to want to sleep at all," the nurse concludes, his footsteps rounding the bed towards the monitors.
"Thanks," Castle whispers appreciatively.
"Not a problem," he replies after a moment as he makes his way towards the door. "Sorry if it's not the best coffee. The McDonald's kiosk down the hall is the only one open this late at night," he adds before the door shuts.
'Wow...' she muses.
"Universe really loves irony, eh Beckett?" Castle murmurs rhetorically, sipping the hot beverage.
Her fingers tickle his palm in response.
"K-" Castle practically chokes on the liquid. Quickly putting the cup down on the table, his now-empty fingers brush affectionately across her cheek and down her neck as he maintains his tense grip on her hand. "Kate?..."
A thunderous silence echoes throughout the room.
Minutes pass.
Nothing.
The beeping from the monitors begins to reverberate in her ears.
'Castle, say something...'
The sensation of his lips ghosting against her knuckles sends a wave of intense tremors across her skin. "I love you," he mutters, barely audible.
An extremely quiet, incoherent "mmehm..." escapes, moments later, from the back of her throat.
"Kate..." Castle encourages, hand gracefully stroking up and down the length of her forearm.
His voice is weak, depleted. He's so very tired.
It's been hours since he drained the last of the sludge that masqueraded as coffee. He'd practically choked each and every time he swallowed. "I'd take that battery-acid monkey pee you guys had in the precinct over this stuff any day," he'd muttered, bracing himself before downing his final gulp. Kate was pretty sure it was taking every ounce of strength he possessed not to regurgitate.
But he'd needed the caffeine. Even if it meant drinking that… stuff.
Evidently desperate to stay awake.
The rough stubble on his chin scratches the back of her hand momentarily as he presses his velvety lips against her fingers. "I'm not going anywhere, Kate… just need to stretch my legs for a second," he whispers into her skin.
She can feel the smile on his mouth as he ghosts another kiss on the inside of her palm, then delicately lays her hand back down on the mattress next to her hip. Her attention is drawn in the direction of the sound of his chair scraping along the linoleum flooring. As his footsteps pad around the bed, something soft - cushiony - contacts her left cheek.
'What did you just put beside my face, Castle?'
"Oh my gosh… Kate!"
His voice is coming from her left, but not directly beside her. As he quickly traipses towards the foot of the bed, the downy sensation on the side of her face disappears.
'What was that all about?' she wonders.
His footsteps rush around to her right again, the chair being dragged closer to the head of the bed. The familiar soft sensation brushes against her right cheek as she hears Castle sit down beside her.
"You followed me, Kate," Castle whispers excitedly as he combs his fingers affectionately through her hair. "As I was moving around the room, your head turned from side to side... like you were watching me!"
It feels like needles. The horrid pain of thousands of tiny needles piercing the skin from inside her body.
The nerves.
Even thinking about moving hurts, but it's also exhilarating. Her fingertips curl ever-so slightly around the side of his hand which is enveloping hers. The discomfort is agonizing. Like the sensation she last felt when her foot fell asleep. Only, at this moment, it's much more severe.
And she's never been so elated.
"Try again, Beckett…"
Her fingers curl a bit more, intense pain shooting up her arm and down her spine.
"Tighter, Kate," he whispers softly. "You can do it…"
Cautiously, she constricts the grip on his hand. Squeezes gently. Twice.
His head is resting against her thigh, the pressure of the side of his face warm and welcome. His fingers are still twined with hers, hands nestled beside his hair. His breathing is deep, heavy. She has no idea when he fell asleep, but she's glad he did.
The humming and beeping of the monitors beside her accompany his rhythmic exhales in a lovely, soothing symphony amidst the silence that fills the air. Nothing. There's nothing else. No footsteps in the hallway, no chatter outside the door. Must be night.
The room is dull, dark. Serene.
The penetrating slice of dim, murky light causes her to wince. She's stared at darkness for so long. Too long. Her left eye cracks again slowly, barely separating her lashes. The obscure, opaque shadow of his form fills her sight line. Her eyelids flutter as she lifts them a bit more, straining against the pain of the faint light hitting her retinas.
His silky, brown hair is flopped across his forehead, his facial features soft, relaxed, at peace. She's missed this more than she can begin to fathom. She's missed looking at him. Watching him. Admiring him.
Their hands rest together laying beside his cheek, fingers tangled, yet his grip on her hand has slackened. Deftly, she elongates her index finger, stretching it out, just able to trace it along the side of his bristled jaw line.
His lip twinges as her finger tip slides off the edge of his chin, his eyelids flickering. Her body quivers as his blue eyes widen, immersing themselves in the depths of the hazel eyes looking back at him. "Kate?..." he sputters sleepily.
Her middle finger joins her index finger as the paired digits lightly graze the edge of his unshaven jaw a second time. His reaction is instantaneous as he rushes to his feet, one hand locking her slender fingers within his muscular grip as his other hand reaches out to caress her cheek.
"Kate?" he breathes, his eyes searching hers, expressing so many emotions all at once. Terror... elation… panic… relief… love… hope… everything.
Her eyelids droop momentarily, relishing the sensation of his palm caressing her cheek, his fingers toying gently with her ear as he tucks the loose strands behind it. Her heart throbs violently, pounding against her chest.
She opens her eyes again without much difficulty, the sight of her partner's face in front of her, glowing. She watches a single, glistening tear trickle down the side of his cheek. A smile tugs at the corners of her lips as he smoothes his fingers through the greasy, unwashed hair cascading down her back, his face completely lit up as she beams lovingly at him.
"Hey…" she exhales weakly.
xxxxxxxx
Encore performance by Mickey Dees due to popular demand... (forgive me :P)
xxxxxxxx
I'm completely awed by the response to this... almost 300 follows? Wow. Thank you!
**HUGS** to all of you!
I promised light at the end of this tunnel... and I always keep my promises. )
I promised hurt/comfort/romance... you got hurt and comfort for 9 chapters, so...
One more chapter to come.
xxxxxxxx
As always... Judge away. :D
