"Well how are we feeling today?" The pudgy nurse looked silly in the hazmat suit as she walked up to his bed and checked his IV.
Rick rolled his eyes at her overpowering cheerfulness and Kate tried not to giggle.
"I don't know about you but I feel like shit!" He answered her in the same overly sweet tone.
"If you want to drop the attitude and tell me what hurts, Mr. Castle, maybe I can do something about it."
Rick was surprised at the sudden change in tone and demeanor. "Sorry, it's been a bad day."
"Apology accepted! I can see where food poisoning and the plague could really take the fun out of your day. OK, let's start at the top, headache?"
"Yeah but not too bad! My throat feels like I drank battery acid. My stomach hurts but not all the time. When it doesn't hurt, I feel hungry but the thought of food makes me feel sick. Actually, I've felt nauseous since I woke up."
"The doctor left orders for some medication that will help the cramps and nausea. I'll get some ice chips for your throat. Put some of the chips in your mouth, just a little at a time but don't chew on them. Let it melt in your mouth and then swallow as gently as you can. It will hurt at first but the cold and the liquid will make it feel better pretty soon." She injected some more medication into his IV and started to leave.
"When can I loose all this hardware?" He pointed to the IV and the monitor.
"I'll let the doctor know you're awake. He will want to examine you first and see if the medication he ordered is helping you. We will also need to draw blood again. Once you can swallow a little better, we can switch you to pills and disconnect the IV, OK?"
Castle just frowned but Kate turned to thank the nurse for him.
"Stop pouting! Do you have any idea just how sick you've been? The doctors and nurses have been in and out all night. They could be risking their lives just by coming in here if we are infected." She held up a hand to stop him from speaking. "And don't tell me you don't get sick...you're sick now so deal with it. I hate to break it to you but the great Richard Castle is human. You've done some incredibly stupid things and been damned lucky up until now. Superman you are not, bullets don't bounce off and apparently mushrooms are your kryptonite." Kate turned to walk away.
"Kate, please don't walk away, it hurts and I can't talk any louder. I am sorry! I know I have to be more careful but this time it was not my fault. You keep saying I act like a kid, when you're a kid you think you are indestructible. I don't like being sick, having someone else take care of me. I'm no good at it! Besides, I'm a writer! I always call the shots for my characters. This whole plaque story line stinks and I can't find the delete button. I really hate it when I'm stuck with a story that I can't fix.
"You aren't a character and this is not a storyline. Time to grow up, Castle! You hate being sick well too bad. So shut up and do what you're told for once! A lot of people are worried about you being in here." Kate turned away trying to keep calm.
"Are you one of them, Kate?"
Beckett turned back startled, it was like he was reading her mind again and that made her mad. Rick was stunned to see tears in Kate's eyes.
"Yes! Are you happy now? I was scared; I thought I might loose you. If you died, how the hell am I supposed to tell Alexis that you died because of me? That she lost her dad, the most important person in her world because no matter what I say or do, you keep putting yourself in harm's way." Kate stamped her foot down in aggravation. She was blubbering like an idiot but couldn't stop because a part of her did want to run over to him, climb in the bed and hold him close. Another part of her wanted to hit him, slap that smug smile right off his face. The last part, the one that was winning her internal argument wanted to run away as far as she could...but how far can you run in a room that is only 90 feet long.
"Kate, don't cry! Please, I really hate it when you cry. This sucks because I want to hold you right now and I can't get out of this bed. Come here."
Those two words ended her indecision. "Come here? How dare you! I am not one of your empty headed bimbos with double D cups that swoon for the privilege of jumping into your bed, because Little Ricky is in the mood for fun and games. Kate Beckett will not be the next notch on your bedpost, another name on your conquest list. I will also not be treated like arm candy that would gladly obey your every command in exchange for money, publicity or pricey baubles. Do you care about anything except what amuses you or helps you write? Does anyone or anything ever touch your heart...except Alexis?"
More in control, she continued. "Yes, I am a fan of your books, or at least I was. Derek Storm was my hero! He helped me through some of my darkest days. I can't believe that I never realized he was such a cardboard cutout of a man. Nikki Heat is well named; she is every man's bachelor party dream girl, a slut stuffed into a police uniform. I doubt either one of your character's would recognize or know what to do an honest human emotion if they fell over them, just like their creator." With that said, Kate turned her back on him and all but ran away. With nowhere else to go, she closed the curtains at the back of the room and turned on the water in the shower full force.
Rick tried to call out to her but his throat hurt too much. He laid back with a puzzled look that quickly turned to a frown. "What the hell just happened? What did I do?" Kate's words hurt him a lot more than the pain in his stomach and throat. He had to talk to her, wanted to explain and apologize but exactly what for he had no clue. Right now he was stuck, tied down with the monitor wires and the stupid IV. He pulled off the monitor wires and tried to sit up.
The nurse had gone to get some ice chips, she returned just in time to watch the monitor wires go flying. "You touch that IV and you will spend the next few days in restraints!"
"Please, get this thing off me. I have to talk to Kate! We had a fight….at least I think it was a fight. She went into the bathroom, it's as far away from me as she can get in this room. "
"You want me to take that off and then you are just going to walk over there. Fine!" She quickly removed the needle and stepped back. Rick tried to sit up again and felt very dizzy. Closing his eyes he moved his legs over the side of the bed. He tried to stand but his feet seemed to melt into the floor, his knees felt like jello and the room kept tilting up and down. On the third try, he finally stood up but his stomach began to turn, he had eaten nothing to throw up but he felt very sick to his stomach and was forced to sit back down again.