I hit 100 reviews with the last chapter, and I owe a thank you to the following people, who have reviewed nearly every chapter: gmay, myboygeorge, TappinCastlefan and Beckett NYPD, and lastly to Tango Mike Charlie, who I can always count on. There is a list as long as my arm of other folks who have seen fit to jot down their very nice thoughts, and I am grateful to every single one of you.
When Rick arrived home from his tour, it was technically their eighth day apart, since it was after midnight. He'd done his last reading in New Hampshire, then caught a red-eye, rather than stay over and return home in the morning. He quietly let himself in, parking his luggage beside the door and slipping off his shoes before tip-toeing upstairs. As he crept into their bedroom, his foot tangled in something and he fell, hard. He waited, surprised the 'thud' didn't wake Kate. He got to his feet and made his way toward the silhouette under the mound of covers. He caressed the curves before sliding between the sheets. After a week it would feel like heaven to curl up with his wife. He was shocked when instead he found himself cuddling her teddy bear, which was the sole occupant at the moment. "Kate?" he whispered, then repeated himself, stronger this time. "Kate!" Where was she?
In his haste to get out the door he forgot about tripping earlier. He sprawled on the landing with an "oof", then stood up and gingerly rubbed his twice abused knees. He turned toward the bathroom to check for her, only to have his forward movement stopped by something hard poking him in the chest. Something, he thought with a horrible sinking feeling, that felt an awful lot like a gun barrel.
"Take what you want, just please don't hurt us. It's dark, I could never identify you, so…"
With that the hallway light flipped on, causing a brief shock of pain in his head. When his vision adjusted, he found he was standing face to face with none other than…
"Kate? What the hell are you doing?"
"Protecting us from intruders, what else?" she responded, stroking her belly. "You never know when someone will invade your home, intent on doing you harm, and menace you with a knife…Oh wait. That already happened this week." Her voice had a dangerous edge to it. "And what are YOU doing, skulking around in the dark in the middle of the night."
"I was trying to surprise y—wait. What? WHAT? When? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Like you didn't tell me that something was brewing? Maybe I figured if you were too chicken to stick around for the great Red invasion, you wouldn't be eager to return to face the wrath of your wife.
"Hold it. THAT is not fair. I was going to stay but the guys said it would make you worry. Besides I spoke to them the other night, they didn't tell me that anything had happened."
"That's because I swore them to silence. I pointed out that since they kept what they knew from me, they owed me. Poetic, don't you think?"
"Listen, you think maybe you could put that away now?" he asked, indicating the pistol still in her hand. "It's very distracting and making it extremely difficult to focus on my groveling."
She raised an eyebrow at him, then strode past him to the bedroom, bent to collect the clothesline she'd strung across the threshold, and put her gun back in the lock-box. She sat down on the bed and folded her arms across her chest, waiting.
He came to kneel before her, and she closed her eyes. She could feel the warmth of his palms as they rested on her thighs. She was basically ready to forgive him, if for no other reason than so that she could feel the comfort of his embrace. He would read that in her eyes, though, and she wanted to make him suffer just a little longer.
"Honey, please, forgive me," he begged. "If I believed they would REALLY come, I'd never have left. You have to know that. I'm so sorry that you went through that." He bent to rest his forehead on her leg, and with relief he felt her stroking her fingers through his hair. He straightened as a thought occurred to him. "How exactly did you get through it, anyway?"
Her mouth twisted for a moment. "Esposito. Saved my ass."
"So I guess we're all lucky you weren't able to chase him off. I knew you would try. How'd he convince you to let him stay?" When she remained silent, he prompted. "Kate?"
"He…proved I wasn't Superwoman. Could we just leave it at that, maybe?"
"Of course." He stood and stripped down to his boxers, then coaxed her into the bed, tossing the bear aside. He made love to her with all of the passion that had built up over the week. Afterwards as they cuddled, he ventured a question. "The gun wasn't loaded, was it?"
"Guess you'll never know, will you?" she replied as she drifted off.
"Ok, I give up. Please help me?" Rick spun at the desperate note in his wife's voice. Her hands were pulling and fussing with the zipper of her formal dress. Fortunately he'd been able to commission the seamstress that did her ball and bridal gowns to craft something that looked elegant on Kate's increasingly pregnant frame. Chuckling, he crossed to her. He gently brushed her hands aside and dragged the zipper up.
"You know, you have a lot of faith in me, trusting me with the zipper. My natural instinct is to unzip."
"Yes, well, this is one of your silly public appearances. I would have been happy to stay home, so if you really want me there, it's in your best interests to help me."
"Leave my pregnant wife by herself, again? No way, we learned what can happen when I do that. I'm never letting you out of my sight again."
"So dragging me out to yet another dog-and-pony show is better?"
He turned her gently so he could read her face. "Kate, if you are really not up for this, we can both stay home."
She debated briefly. Her heart melted at the earnestness in his face. He really was willing to face Paula's wrath for her."No, I'm already dressed. But you promise me plenty of dance floor time?"
"Absolutely. I can't believe you're volunteering."
"Yeah, well, for some reason, in your arms I still feel graceful. Not like a dancing cow, that comes in a few weeks." She peeked at his watch. "I'm going to go downstairs and…whoa..." She wobbled, grabbing his wrist for support.
Alarmed, he gave her a once-over. "What happened, what's wrong?" His voice was sharp with worry.
"Nothing. Stupid Gumby hormones!"
"Gumby?" he replied, confused.
"Since certain parts of a pregnant woman's body need to be more flexible…" she broke off at his grin. "For the birth process, you pig. Anyway, there's this wonderful hormone called Relaxin. I know, original name, right? Only it's not specific enough to only loosen pelvic joints, it loosens ALL the joints. My ankles have been particularly flimsy lately."
"And you want to dance?"
"Yes, because I have you to hang on to. I will, however, change into flat shoes. Now hurry up and finish getting ready."
Kate was on the second step from the bottom when he called out to her. "Honey, which tie do you think?" She rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder, waiting for Mr. GQ to come into view. As she shifted her weight, her ankle rolled again and she crumpled, her head striking the floor as she landed. The last thing she heard as she slipped into unconsciousness was Rick's terrified "KATE?"
Rick was headed to the top of the stairs when he heard the thud. "Kate?" When he saw her sprawled at the foot of the stairs, not moving, he screamed her name. He vaulted down the stairs three at a time, his instinct to pick her up, to cradle her, warring with the voices of every first aid instructor he had ever met. "Don't move her, don't move her" he told himself. He pressed his fingers to her neck and tears of relief welled in his eyes as he found a strong pulse. He was amazed to find his phone already in his hand. Not wasting time wondering about it, he dialed 911. Fighting to keep his voice calm enough to be understood, he answered the operator.
"Yes, please, I need an ambulance right away to 1043 Spring Street, the penthouse! My wife is 18 weeks pregnant, she's taken a fall and she is unconscious. I don't know how it happened, I was out of the room. She fell down some stairs but I don't know how many. Please hurry. No, I know, don't move her." Crouched beside her, he stared intently at her face, praying for some movement, some sign that she was coming around. "Kate, honey, wake up for me…" he crooned, rubbing her hand. He tried a sterner tone. "Kate! Snap out of it!"
After what felt like forever, there was a knock at the door. He raced to admit the paramedics, who were rolling a gurney. They knelt on either side of her, checking blood pressure, pulse, pulling up her eyelids to shine a penlight in them. Rick desperately wanted to be at her side, but he knew he would only be in their way. At one point he heard them murmur "The 18 weeks must be a mistake, she looks close to full term. Good fetal heartbeat." Anxiously he stepped forward.
"What about the other two, are they ok?"
The EMT looked at him blankly. "The other two what, sir?"
"Heartbeats! She's carrying triplets."
The EMT looked at him sympathetically. "We don't have the gear here to differentiate. As soon as we get her to the hospital, they can check that." She looked him over pointedly.
Rick looked down and realized he was barefoot, and he wanted to be ready to leave with them the second they headed for the hospital. He darted to the closet and jammed his feet into a pair of sneakers, grabbed a jacket from its hanger. He heard the words "collar" and "stabilize". When he looked over, her neck was wrapped with yellow foam and white plastic. They rolled her to her side and slid a back board under her, then lifted her onto the gurney.
As they packed up their gear, Rick made a single phone call. No longer attempting to hide his anguish, his voice was thick with tears as he spoke. "Mother…No, I'm not OK. I'm on the way to the hospital with Kate. There's been an accident. S-sh-she fell, I don't know how bad it is yet, but she won't wake up. I need you to make some calls. I'm leaving my phone here, just go through the directory and make the calls for me. Yes, I'm serious. The only person I want to hear from right now is strapped to a rolling bed, possibly fighting for her life. Yeah, I love you too. Bye."
Rick insisted on riding to the hospital in the ambulance. Begging had been involved, and the ambulance crew realized that short of sedating him on the spot, nothing would have kept him from his wife's side.
He sat in a chair in the waiting area while they examined her and performed their tests. After an eternity a nurse came and found him. "Mr. Castle? We ran an ultrasound and all three heartbeats are strong and healthy. However, your wife has a concussion, and is still unconscious. We just have to wait it out."
"Can I see her?" At the nurse's nod of assent, he dashed into the room. Kate was hooked up to monitors, but aside from that she merely looked like she was sleeping. He lowered himself into a chair beside the bed and took her hand.
He sat vigil until a gentle touch on his shoulder drew his gaze away from her face and into that of his mother. He let go of Kate's hand and rose to hug Martha. Over her shoulder he glimpsed an anxious Lanie in the doorway. He offered her a weak smile and beckoned her in.
"I didn't want to intrude, but she's my best…" Lanie's voice cracked.
"No, you don't, Dr. Parrish." Rick's voice was uncharacteristically terse, but no one would blame him, given the stress. "I…We…need you to keep a positive mindset. She'll be fine. She's a fighter, you know that better than any of us."
A patient but firm nurse told them that Kate's visitors must be limited, so Martha and Lanie walked, arm in arm, back toward the waiting area.
The minute hand had made one torturously slow pass around the clock on the wall when he heard a small "Oh" from the doorway. He turned to meet the stricken eyes of Alexis as she took in all of the wires and tubes leading away from the still form of her stepmother and confidant. She was flanked by Kevin and Javier, their postures rigid, protective. He understood immediately that, voluntarily or bidden by Martha, the boys had raced down to Rutgers and back to fetch his daughter for him. He stood and she flew into his arms.
"Daddy."
He nodded his thanks to the two men over her head as they discretely vanished down the hallway. He stroked her hair and she hugged his waist tightly, simultaneously seeking and offering comfort. He shushed her as though she were still a small child, not the adult she'd recently become. Since Alexis was family, she was allowed to stay for a little longer, before Rick sent her to wait with the others. He shook his head when she protested. "I'll send someone for you if there's any news. Go keep Gram company."
He told himself he was sending her away from him for her own good, and in a way it was. He wanted time to wallow, to berate himself for whichever of his stupid, selfish actions had brought them all to this place. Alexis would read him too well, and work hard to draw him out. In resisting her efforts, he was likely to hurt her feelings, and he'd be damned if he'd let another of his girls be injured in any way.
Hours passed. Shifts changed, but Kate's condition did not. He tried everything. He talked continuously, in the vain hope that she would wake, if only to tell him to shut up. He told her of his plans for their future. He even sent a prayer to whatever higher powers might be listening. Finally he played his last, desperate card, his voice urgent. "Kate, if you don't wake up, this minute, I…I'm…I'm going to tell Paula to leak it to the press that YOU posed for the Nikki Heat covers. I mean it Kate, I'll really do it."
Nothing, not even a twitch of response. He hung his head, deflated. Suddenly a slightly raspy voice reached his ear.
"You just try that, Castle, and I'll tell everyone you were a virgin when we married."
His head snapped up to find her smiling at him. He sobbed with relief. "KATE! Oh Honey. You scared the crap out of me, you know that?" he demanded.
Before she could respond, the doctor's jovial voice issued from the doorway. "Well, look who's awake. You must have a pretty hard head there, Mrs. Castle."
"It's Kate, please. And yes, I must. Why else would I have married this one?" she asked, jerking her thumb toward her madly grinning husband.
When the doctor asked him to step out so that an exam could be performed, Rick did so hesitantly, not really wanting to take his eyes off her. Still, he knew there was a whole waiting room of people that desperately needed the good news he was about to bring.
When he stepped into the room he found that even Roy Montgomery had joined the group, and was first to spot him in the doorway. "Rick?" Five more sets of eyes trained themselves on him, waiting.
The collective whoop of joy startled a passerby as he broke the news. "She's OK. She's awake and threatening me!"
I hope everyone is ok with back-to-back drama chapters. I tried to balance them with a little levity, just like the show does. I'd very much like to hear your thoughts, so please review?