Okay, so there are quite a few people that have helped me out these past few days with the development of this story. Gabby, my new friend, if the major one. She reads all of the chapters and helps me, ever since the beginning. So, I am very thankful I met her and we share the same love for Castle.

No1castlefan, rokerroar, tridecalogisms, Kie Santiago, KBRCKCBlack, and Steeleafan are just a few of the many people that have helped me out. So, for that, I thank you. You help make this story turn out what it's becoming, which I hope is something everyone can enjoy.

There is some... Josh and Kate in this chapter. Actually, that's pretty much what it is. But Castle is mentioned, quite a lot actually. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Castle belongs to Andrew, the plot to myself and any characters I may create belong to myself as well. Any mistakes in here are purely mine, so blame me.

Kate sat in a chair that she had pulled up next to the bed. Her hand was in Josh's, her eyes on her finger, the diamond that was placed on it shinning in the light and causing her to think of nothing else but that.

Was she really ready to marry someone?

She thought at the moment that it was the right decision, she still thought it was. She was just scared of some people's reactions; namely Rick, Lanie, Esposito, Ryan and the Captain.

Josh was doing better than the doctors thought he was going to do. They didn't expect him to live this long, they were starting to think with another minor surgery he would make somewhat close to a full recovery. That was a good thing. That meant a few things, quite a few things, but one really stuck out.

Only one heart would be broken in the process.

His eyes would flutter every now and then, his pain meds keeping him under most of the time. The doctor said he had crush syndrome, but he wasn't trapped under the rubble for very long, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been. He could've been stuck under the building longer then he was and could've died a slow and incredibly painful death.

Luckily some of his fellow doctors that were there with him and the 'Doctors Without Borders' had found him just a few moments after the building had crashed to the ground. They knew how to treat the terrible diagnosis and how to keep him alive for the time being.

The crushing, though, had caused some strain on his heart, which was the hospital's main worry at the moment. If, and when, he survived, that would have to heal on it's own.

So, Kate sat next to the bed, watching him as he would stir slightly, but go back into a deep, somewhat peaceful sleep. Every now and then he would wake up, ask where she was and Kate would always say the same thing.

"Kate, where's Kate? I need to know." His voice was groggy and scratchy as he turned in the bed to look at her and his eyes would stare at her as if she were an angel in a dream and that he was in heaven, or something along those line.

"I'm right here, Josh. Right here." She knew that once she would say that he would calm down and completely forget about what he 'needed to know.' She would wait until he was comprehending practically everything around him, including his condition, before she told him that she would, indeed, marry him.

But every time he would wake up there was a piece of Kate that would wish he would stay awake for the rest of his life until he was too old to pee for himself. That, though, according to the doctors, wasn't going to happen for quite some time. She knew that he would fight through this and wake up sooner than anyone would expect.

That's exactly what happened too. Two days, nine hours and twenty-three minutes after Kate had first showed up to the hospital, his eyes slowly fluttered open. Only, instead of having the blank expression they always had when he would wake up, they were fully aware of what was going on. There was also the emotion that she hated to see in his eyes; pain.

"Kate? Is that you?" His eyes were squinted slightly and his face twisted up in pain once he knew what was going on. Kate sat up a little straighter, moving slightly so she was closer to him.

"Yeah, it's me." Her voice was soft and sounded like she was on the verge of tears. She never thought she would feel this way for a man, especially one who wasn't her father.

Or Castle.

No, she couldn't think of that now. Shaking her head slightly to get the thoughts out of her head, she moved so she sat next to him on the bed, making sure not to touch him too much. The doctor had warned her about how much pain he would be in once he finally did wake up, if he did.

Which he had.

"How do you feel?" She gently ran her fingertips over his cheek, the smile on his face bringing one to her own. It felt so right to be there.

"I've been better." His arm slowly moved, bringing his hand to hers as he gently grabbed it, bringing it to his eyesight, the smile on his face growing bigger then she'd ever seen. "Either that's a yes, or I'm dreaming." His eyes moved to her green globes as she nodded her head slightly, the blush creeping up on her cheeks apparent immediately.

Kate could feel a small tug on her hand, and she couldn't help but lean in and give Josh a short, sweet kiss on the lips, the feeling of his warmth there bringing memories from the morning a few days ago and Castle rushing into her head. Leaning back slightly, she gave him a smile to mask her confusion and anger at herself before she stood up.

"I'm going to have a doctor come in and let you know what's going on." Letting her hand slip from his, she sighed, taking a deep breath in as she made it to the nurses' station.

"If everything continues to look the way it is, you can leave tomorrow. Congratulations." The doctors walked out of the room. It had been 10 days since Josh had woken up for the first time and stayed awake, and now they were going to be going home tomorrow.

It would be nice not to have to sleep in the very uncomfortable hospital chairs that were provided for guests. But she had stayed for him. She was going to stay by his side until the end. The very end.

"Kate, you should go home, gets some rest." Kate looked up from their hands that were intertwined, her focus leaving the thoughts of sleep; only to be reminded of how little sleep she had received the past week and a half.

"No, Josh, you need someone here with you, I'm not going to leave." Kate tried to not look as tired as she felt, but by the smirk on her fiancé's face, it wasn't working. Sighing, she rested her head on his arm, looking at the door while her thoughts wandered. She was brought out of them by a pair of lips on the top of her head.

"Go home, Kate. I have an entire hospital staff that will take care of me. You can come back tomorrow morning and we can go home and plan everything, together. I have friends here that I can talk too. I won't be too lonely." Kate turned her head slightly to look up at Josh, a smile playing at her lips.

Shaking her head, she sat up and pushed the chair back to the wall before she grabbed her overnight bag she had brought and she turned, looking at the man in the bed. She let the smile form on her face as she made her way to him, looking into his blue eyes.

God, why did they have to be so similar!

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Leaning down, she gave him a quick peck before she moved the door, turning and looking at him. "I love you."

The words seemed so foreign, they didn't sound like they came from her mouth, but they had. Those three words had come from her mouth, and she didn't regret saying them.

"I love you, too, Kate." Smiling, she left the room, nodding to a few of the nurses' she had become acquainted with as she made her way to the elevator.

There was a smiled plastered on her face the entire ride down to the first floor. Nothing was running through her mind except every possible detail of her wedding that was going to happen. It brought butterflies to her stomach. She was actually going to get married. Sighing with content, she walked to the front of the hospital, looking around as she realized she hadn't had a car at the building. She was brought here by Lanie, than used taxi as a way for transportation.

She needed to go to the station to talk to the captain about getting more time off. She considered herself lucky to even get this past week off just to stay with Josh in the hospital. She hadn't taken a day off in her life before, not unless she was demanded too, so she figured the captain was taking this from her many sick days she had acquired over the years. Not wanting to take a taxi to the police station, she pulled out her phone, pressing the number one on her phone and holding it to her ear, listening to the ringing.

"Kate? Are you alright, I haven't heard from you in over a week." His panicky voice came through to her and it brought a smile on her face. Just hearing him worry made her happy.

"I'm fine. Castle, can you come pick me up at the hospital?" Kate crossed her arms as he said he would be there soon and they said goodbye and hung up.

She knew he would be heartbroken, but she knew she needed to tell him first. Richard Castle was arrogant, egotistical, stubborn and a ten year old on a sugar rush, but he was also kind, loving, caring, funny and her best friend. He needed to know before anyone else. It felt right.

More right then the wedding itself.

R&R