Like I said in my author's note in the last chapter, this was initially written as one giant chapter in combination with the last chapter before I decided to split it due to the length. I definitely went back and forth on that because it made the last chapter a little dry and heavy on the medical jargon while this chapter hopefully has a lot more character moments. Going forward, I'm hoping to do a better job balancing the two. I've brought all of our favorite characters back into the story in this chapter. I tried my best to make their voices as true to character as possible, but I'm depending on you to tell me how well I captured Esposito, Lanie, Ryan, Jim, Alexis, and Martha. With all of their dialogue, this chapter ended up being over 8,000 words. Wow! Hopefully, it is still a quick read since it a character and dialogue heavy scene and I was able to take care of most of the clunky exposition in the previous chapter.
I'm up to 95 reviews! Wow! Special thanks go to recent reviewers Nat, chezchuckles, Senuna, texasloves9, Rachy474, I'm Widget, caskettcoffeemachine, Tvmusiclover, gloriajv, Sat44124, baterista9, Scousedancer, caskettfan12, Keronshara, Chkgun93, & Googie. Think we can make it 100 by tomorrow?
Two editorial notes: I've included several text messages in the story below. The text messages are in italics to separate them from the rest of the dialogue and are written in text format with the message recipient and time sent in italics and bold to the left of the message. I'm not sure if there is a standard way to indicate text messages in stories, but hopefully this works. I also included a flashback in this chapter. In order to make it clearer when this happens in the future, I've italicized the flashback and noted the beginning and end of the flashback using "FLASHBACK – 48 HOURS PRIOR" and "END FLASHBACK." Hat tip to Keronshara for this suggestion and a special thanks to chezchuckles for other editorial advice via private message. You guys rock! Okay, back to the story...
Castle gently kissed her forehead as her eyes slid close. "I promise, sweetheart. I'll be here. Always." He watched her carefully, reassured by the slackness in her face which indicated a relief from pain and the gentle rise and fall of her chest.
After ensuring that Kate was indeed asleep, Castle slid his left hand from her cheek and reached for the buzzing iPhone. 6 missed texts. Damn. He scrolled through the messages quickly.
Lanie Parrish (6:08 am): Hey Castle, how's our girl doing? Is she up yet? I'm headed there now and I'm going to stop for coffee on the way. What can I bring you? I'm guessing you need caffeine more than me right now.
At the moment, nothing sounded better to Castle than a hot cup of coffee. He glanced at the time. It was 6:14 am now. Hopefully Lanie hadn't made it to the coffee cart yet, because he needed caffeine in the worst way. He quickly typed out a response with his left thumb, grateful that his experience with his teenage daughter made him a master at texting, even one-handed.
To Lanie Parrish: Hey Lanie. Coffee sounds wonderful. I'd love a cappuccino. Biggest they've got. Kate and I didn't get much sleep last night. She's been up but they just gave her some pain meds so she's napping. She's had a bad AM...I'm a bit worried. Get here soon so you can tell me she's fine.
Castle hit send on the text to Lanie and scrolled back to his incoming messages, seeing two texts from Alexis and one from his mother.
Alexis (5:45 am): Dad, when's Beckett's surgery? I want to come see her. I couldn't sleep last night b/c I was so worried about her...and you. Det. Ryan stayed here last night and said he'd take us to the hospital if it was okay with you.
Alexis (6:05 am): Dad, call me AS SOON AS you wake up. Is Beckett okay? I'm going to get in the shower so I'll be ready to come to the hospital when you call. Love you.
Castle shook his head, marveling at how much his daughter cared for the beautiful woman laying before him. Kate was so loved. He hoped she knew that. He opened another message, this time from his mother.
Mother (6:12 am): Alexis is literally vibrating with worry. Det. Ryan offered to drive us to the hospital. I think Alexis needs to see her dad. She had a rough night. We both did. We're on our way. What's Kate's room number? See you soon. Love you.
Castle was just preparing to text Alexis a quick response when an incoming call from a number he didn't recognize caused his phone to vibrate yet again.
Castle picked up the line immediately, answering tentatively. "Hello, this is Rick Castle."
"Hey Rick, it's Jim. Jim Beckett. I hope you don't mind that I got your number from Katie's cell phone. I just got here to NYU Med but forgot Katie's room number."
"Hey Jim. We're up in the ICU on the 6th floor. Her room number is 624, in the private room at the end of the hall."
"Great, I'm on my way up. Can I bring you anything? You need coffee or something to eat? I'm betting you didn't get much sleep last night."
"Oh I appreciate it, but I think Lanie's bringing me coffee. That should do for now. Kate's napping at the moment, but she told me she wanted to talk to you, so I'm glad you're here. They've been talking about possibly bringing her back for surgery a little early. I can fill you in on the rest once you get here."
"Okay Rick. See you in a few. 624, right?
"Yep, 624. See you soon."
Castle hung up noticing that Alexis had sent a third text while he'd been on the phone for only a few
minutes. He clicked it open.
Alexis (6:21 am): Dad, I'm on the way to the hospital with Gram and Det. Ryan. I can't wait to see you. What room are you in? CALL ME!
Castle chuckled and clicked on the message to respond.
To Alexis, Mother: Good morning girls. I'm glad that you are on your way. Kate's sleeping right now, but I know she'll be happy to see you when she wakes up. We're in the ICU on the 6th Floor. Room 624 – private room at the end of the hall. Ask for Amy if you get lost and she'll help you find us. Stay with Ryan and do exactly what he says. Be safe. See you soon. Hugs and kisses.
Castle slid his phone into his pocket and looked back to Kate, surprised that she was still sleeping soundly despite the constant vibrating of his phone. He glanced at the monitor and was relieved to note that her O2 level was at 94% and even better, her BP had gone up slightly to 90/70, suggesting that the rest and blood transfusions were starting to make an impact.
Castle looked up as the door opened and smiled when he saw Lanie slide through it carrying a heaping tray filled with coffee cups and a bag of what he hoped were pastries.
"Hey Castle. I come bearing cappuccino. God, you look exhausted," Lanie commented, sliding a piping hot venti cappuccino into Castle's free hand.
"Lanie, you are an angel," said Castle gratefully, taking a sip of the hot liquid and feeling instantly better.
"I got some croissants and danish in here too. Help yourself." Lanie slid the remaining coffee and pastries onto a nearby tray table before grabbing Kate's chart from its perch at the end of the bed, sliding into a nearby chair to flip through it while sipping her coffee.
Lanie glanced at the monitor near Kate's bed, checking her vital signs. "Her BP is still pretty low," she commented, noticing how pale Kate looked beneath the fluorescent lights.
Castle shook his head. "This is up actually. It was 80/60 until a few minutes ago. You don't know the half of it. She had a really rough morning."
"Spill, Castle. Start at the beginning. How's she been doing?"
"What time did you leave last night? 10:30?"
Something like that," responded Lanie, frowning at an entry in Kate's chart.
"She woke up just before 1 am and of course wanted an update on everything that'd happened since since she'd been sedated that afternoon. So, I filled her in as much as I could. We talked for almost an hour before she started fading and then her private nurse Amy came in and took her vitals and gave her some medicine and she was out again. I woke up just before 6 am to her crying and gasping in pain. I could tell something wasn't right and she told me she was hurting a lot worse than she had been the night before. So finally her nurses and anesthesiologist came in to her examine her just as her O2 sats started to drop. They found a clot in her chest tube and I guess blood had been backing up her chest for a few hours because of it."
Lanie dropped the chart to table with a clatter, nearly spilling her coffee as she did so. "Wait, what? She had a clot that was blocking her chest tube? Castle, why didn't you call me? That's not something to mess around with... Did they break it up with heparin or did they have to replace the tubing?" Lanie grabbed for Kate's chart again, flipping to the front to read the newest entries.
Castle sighed heavily. "Lanie, this just happened. They were able to break it up, but she's been bleeding more since they broke up the clot which is why her BP's been down. They've given her a couple of blood transfusions so far, I think."
"Jesus, Castle...," Lanie said worriedly, dropping the chart back to the table and picking up her coffee again. "I should have stayed last night. I really thought she was stable, but this...I don't like this. They need to get her into surgery soon. Has the famous Doctor Jameson landed yet?" Lanie asked of the surgeon Castle had hired from Massachusetts General who was set to arrive on the roof via private helicopter at any moment, a feat that had no doubt set Castle back some serious coin.
"He should be soon. I think this flight was scheduled to get in about 6:45 because he wanted a little time to look over her chart and go over the procedure with the surgical staff before he started."
Lanie nodded, looking pensive. She stood, looking as if she planned to examine Kate, who still slept quietly on the hospital bed in front of her, but was interrupted by a door opening. Esposito opened the door slowly, poking his head in, his gun raised in front of him as he quickly scanned the room. Javier quickly nodded, saying "It's clear" to someone outside the door before dropping his weapon and striding to the center of the room, taking Lanie in his arms and kissing her gently on the cheek.
"Hola, chica," he said as he reached for the bag of pastries on the table in front of him, rooting around until he found a cherry danish. "I'm hoping this is for me?" he said playfully.
"Of course it is for you, you crazy man. Coffee too. How'd you sleep? You were gone when I got up," Lanie said, pouting a little.
Castle was distracted by another man entering the room shyly, carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and a bouquet of peach tulips in the other. Castle stood and offered his hand, taking the flowers and placing them in a waiting vase by Kate's bedside before shaking the man's hand.
"Jim, good to see you," Castle said pleasantly. "How are you doing?"
"I'm doing just fine, Rick. How's my Katie doing?" he asked in concern, walking to her bedside and taking in the abundance of tubes and monitor leads, the oxygen mask strapped to her pale face, and the reassuring beeping of the monitor as it traced her steady heartbeat. "The nurse said something about her having a tough morning? What happened, Rick?" As he asked the writer pointed questions, Jim couldn't stop himself from brushing a loose strand of hair off his daughter's forehead, much as he'd done when she'd been a little girl and had a bad dream. She looked so young and vulnerable lying in that bed. Not like the tough, savvy detective she'd become after her mother's death. Jim marveled at how much Katie looked like his Johanna at this moment, shuddering as he thought back to how close he'd come to losing her in the last 24 hours.
Castle sighed as he finished rearranging the flowers and sank back into the chair where he'd sat sentry at Kate's bedside all night. He immediately reached again for her hand, needing a physical connection to her as he started to describe the complications Kate had faced in the last few hours.
"She's had a rough go of it, Jim. This morning she woke up around 6 in a lot of pain and having trouble breathing. We got her nurses and doctor in here pretty quickly and they worked out that her chest tube had been clogged by a blood clot which caused blood to back up in her chest." Rick sighed before continuing. "We were lucky that they broke it up with some medication so that they didn't have to replace the tube, but she's been bleeding more since they broke up the clot. Lanie and I were just talking about when her surgeon is landing, because the nurses mentioned that they may try to start her surgery a little early."
Jim nodded, so grateful for the man sitting in front of him that had pulled his daughter from the depths of her despair after focusing on nothing but her mother's case for years. Since Rick came along, his daughter seemed to come alive again. Sure, Katie had acted annoyed by his schtick, rolling her eyes as she talked about how he was always coming up with these insane theories. But it had been like a balm to Jim's soul to hear Katie laughing again, to see her really enjoying herself as she ribbed with Castle playfully at the Nikki Heat book launch. It was clear they shared something deeper than just a writer and his reluctant muse.
Jim wasn't stupid. He'd read the dedication that the talented writer had written to his Katie in his first book. "To the extraordinary KB and all my friends at the 12th." Jim had even read Heat Wave, curious to read more from the author whose Derrick Storm novels Katie had raved about for years. He'd also wanted to know how well Richard Castle had managed to capture his daughter's spirit on the page. He'd been impressed. Nikki Heat was his Katie through and through, with a couple of...interesting additions to her personality. Jim blushed slightly as he remembered reading the climatic sex scene between Nikki and Rook. He assumed that the scene had simply been a bit wish fulfillment between the two or perhaps a sex scene was a novel requirement these days.
Either way, what had really convinced Jim that Rick was someone who he could trust, someone who would love and protect his Katie no matter what had been their talk only days before.
FLASHBACK – 48 HOURS PRIOR
Jim had been out of his mind with worry at the thought of the danger Katie was putting herself in. He'd felt paralyzed, knowing that whatever he could say to her wouldn't be enough to make her stop. Unable to sleep, he'd decided one morning that he had to at least try to speak to the one person who could possibly get through to his daughter.
The first thing Jim had wanted to know was the truth about what Katie was up against. When Rick had told Jim "he's a trained killer," he'd felt sick, all the more the convinced that this story could very well have a tragic ending that the talented writer wouldn't be able to rewrite or undo. Jim felt a sense of urgency that he hadn't felt in years, knowing that his time to get through to Rick, to get through to Katie, was all too short. So he tried to communicate to Castle just what was at stake.
"She won't listen to me and she won't back down, not unless someone can convince her that her life is worth more than her mother's death." Jim had said sadly, but truthfully.
"Look, she cares about you, Rick. And unless you are a lot dumber than you look, I know you care about her. Don't let her throw her life away." And with that, Jim had been gone, leaving Rick to ponder over what Kate's father had said. He'd hoped it would be enough.
END FLASHBACK
Jim was startled from his gazing at his sleeping daughter by the sound of another detective peeking through the door, weapon drawn. The young detective quickly scanned the room, taking in the growing number of people sitting at Kate's bedside, seeming satisfied with what he saw. "Okay girls, we're all clear," the detective called to someone outside before entering the room, with two gorgeous redheads following him closely whom Jim had been introduced to the day before at Roy's funeral as Castle's mother and teenage daughter.
"Dad!" Alexis shouted as she practically catapulted herself into her father's arms. "I missed you. How are you? How's Beckett?"
Castle hugged Alexis tightly, seeming relieved to have his daughter at his side. "Hey sweet pea," he said softly, drawing his daughter back to look at her face before giving her a gentle peck on the cheek. "It's great to see you too. Beckett's doing okay for now. She's just been really tired and sore. They're going to bring her back for surgery pretty soon."
Castle looked up to receive a kiss on the top of his head from his mother. "Hello mother. Good to see you too. Sounds like you girls had a long night last night, huh?" he asked with a rueful smile.
"Not nearly as long as you judging from the circles under your eyes and your rumpled scrubs. Richard, you look dead on your feet." Martha's face tensed and she made an involuntary wince as she glanced at the sleeping detective, regretting her poor choice of words.
The word choice wasn't lost on Castle either, but he tried to play it off, holding up his hands in mock indignation. "Ouch mother, you wound me. Not all of us can stay forty forever thanks to Botox and the magic of Dr. Silver...whose surgery bills I am still paying off, I'll have you know."
"Forty? Why Richard, you ought to know that I'm eternally thirty-five thanks to the great Dr. Silver. Besides, I'm an actress. Occupational requirement." Martha smiled broadly at him, sinking into an open chair beside Detective Ryan and reaching for the coffee she'd insisted that they stop for on the way.
Everyone in the room stopped speaking at once, their eyes going to the patient lying in the hospital bed in the center of the room as Kate started to stir, seemingly disturbed by the crowd that had gathered in her room.
Kate struggled to open her eyes, still feeling woozy and out of it from the combination of blood loss and haze of pain medications and sedatives. The first thing that she noticed was that Castle's warm hand was no longer wrapped tightly in hers, pressed against her heart as it had been seemingly only moments ago. She began to stir more violently, her eyes and hand desperately seeking the one man who could make her feel safe.
"Rick..." Kate called, her voice sounding hoarse, but slightly panicked as her hand reached for him.
Castle was back at her side in an instant. "Hey Kate...shh, it's okay. I'm right here," he reassured, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tightly as he spoke.
Kate finally managed to open her eyes fully and began to take in her surroundings. All around her bed, the people she loved most had gathered. She saw Alexis, sitting on the armrest of her dad's chair, her arm slung possessively around Rick's shoulders. Her father also hovered nearby, and he gently reached out and brushed back a lock of hair from her forehead, much as she remembered him doing when she was a little girl. Lanie and Esposito sat on the other side of the bed, their hands locked together as they smiled up at her. And last but not least, sat Ryan and Martha a bit farther away from the bed, both swigging coffee and looking at her curiously. Her heart was warmed at the sight of so many familiar faces, but she couldn't help but feel slightly self-conscious at her frailty, and with the urgency with which she had searched for Castle until she could physically touch him again.
"Hey...everybody," she said tentatively, smiling at all the faces around her. This seemed to break the tension, and everyone descended on her at once.
Lanie was the first to speak. "How you feeling, honey? Castle told me you had a rough morning."
Kate did her best to smile reassuringly at her best friend. "Hey, I'm doing okay. Feeling much better now than I was an hour ago. Not looking forward to the surgery though."
Lanie nodded sympathetically. "I know, sweetie, but it won't be like...last time. Did Castle tell you about the rock star surgeon he's flying in as we speak?"
Kate could only nod her head in amazement while Alexis, Martha, and Jim looked to Castle in confusion.
Castle took this is as his cue to explain. "Look, it's no big deal, really. Lanie and I did a little research yesterday once we realized that they were going to delay Kate's surgery until morning. It's a delicate operation and we wanted to make sure we had the best cardiothoracic surgeon possible. We found a guy in Boston who specializes in doing these type of lung repairs laparoscopically instead of opening up the whole chest which really cuts back on the length of the recovery. So, we called and made him an offer and luckily he had an opening in his schedule this morning as long as we could get him back to Boston by 3 PM so he can still see his afternoon patients. He should be landing any minute actually."
Martha simply nodded, expecting nothing less from her son. He'd always wanted the best of everything for those he loved. The best schools for Alexis, the best security for their apartment, and even begrudgingly, the best clothing for Martha's own wardrobe. It made sense that he'd want to find the best surgeon to operate on the woman he loved. There were few things in life that enough money couldn't buy you, Martha had learned over the years, and if tens of thousands of dollars could buy the fiercely independent detective several months off of her rehabilitation and recovery, by all means, Richard would simply ask who to make the check out to.
Jim's eyes widened in surprise, unaware of the gift that Rick had given his daughter. "Wow, Rick. That's very generous. I can't thank you enough for wanting to help my Katie like that."
Jim turned to his daughter, feeling that he had a hundred things he wanted to tell her, but not knowing where to start. "How you doing, Katie?" Jim asked softly as his hand stroked his daughter's temple. "Do you need anything, sweetheart?"
Kate gave her dad a small smile, relieved to see her dad standing steadily in front of her very much alive and sober, despite the hell that she knew that she had put him through in the last 24 hours. She looked at Castle and squeezed his hand before responding. "No Dad, Rick's been taking very good care of me. Now that you are here... Now that all of you are here," she continued, looking around the room at her family and friends. "I've got everything I need."
Before Kate could say more, the door to her room swung open again and in strode both of her private nurses, Amy and Jaime, her anesthesiologist Dr. Adams, and a tall, older man dressed in scrubs and a white coat who she assumed was her famous cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Jameson.
"Well hello everyone.." Dr. Jameson said to the room at large, surprised by the number of visitors his critically injured patient was currently entertaining. He walked up to the man seated at his patient's bedside holding her hand who he instantly recognized from the tabloids as the famous author Richard Castle.
"Mr. Castle," said Dr. Jameson, shaking the author's hand. "I'm Dr. Jameson. It's nice to finally meet you in person. I just landed. I have to say – the accommodations were quite generous, so thank you for that." The doctor turned his attentions to the patient lying in the bed. "And you must be the famous Detective Beckett. It's nice to meet you. I'm going to be doing your surgery today."
Kate smiled at the surgeon, feeling at ease with his bedside manner almost instantly. "Hi, nice to meet you too. Please call me Kate."
"Alright, Kate. How are you feeling right now? Amy was filling me in on your morning on the way up here and it sounds like you've had a pretty tiring 24 hours. Has your breathing gotten easier since they got the chest tube to start draining again?"
Kate nodded. "Yeah, it's much easier to breathe now."
"Good, glad to hear it. I'm just going to do a quick exam if that's alright with you." He looked up at the visitors surrounding his patient. "You are all welcome to stay as long as that's okay with Kate."
Again, Kate nodded her consent. Dr. Jameson began his exam by gently lifting the edge of her gown to expose her bandaged chest and right side. He slid the stethoscope to her chest. "Sorry, might be cold," he warned as he listened carefully to her breath sounds. He pulled the gown back up to cover her upper chest before carefully lifting the side, exposing a tube snaking from between her ribs in her wounded side while being careful to protect the detective's modesty. He glanced at the canister connected to the side of the bed, noting that the canister was nearly full at 800 mL of output. He turned to one of the two nurses at his patient's bedside. "Looks like the chest tube output is up to 800 mL. Is that really all within the last hour?" He glanced at her monitor, seeming happy with the reading of 90/70. "How many units of blood has she had so far this morning?"
Amy turned to Jaime who'd been in charge of setting up the transfusions, silently encouraging him to speak up. "She's had three units of O-neg and two more of packed cells so far. We also gave her a large fluid bolus which helped bump her BP up from 80/60 to 90/70." reported Jaime to the surgeon.
Dr. Jameson nodded. "Okay, let's go ahead and get her prepped and up to the OR. There's more active bleeding in her chest right now than I'm comfortable with, so let's make sure we have another 6 units of blood and 4 of packed cells on standby from the blood bank."
He turned back to his patient and Mr. Castle. "I'd like to go ahead and start the surgery a little early if that's okay with you. Kate, the plan is for me to make several incisions in your chest and side and go in laparoscopically to repair the damage to your right lung. The biggest concern at the moment is to make sure that we get the bleeding under control but also that we do what we can to prevent more clots from forming, which can potentially be very dangerous if they move to the wrong area as you saw this morning. I'm anticipating the surgery will take us between 4-6 hours. Do you have any questions before we get ready to bring your upstairs?"
Kate shook her head, squeezing Castle's hand nervously as she did so, worried about what was to come.
Dr. Jameson gave her a small smile before addressing the room. "Okay great, I'll see you in the OR in few minutes. Dr. Adams is going to administer some pre-surgery meds and then we'll give you a few minutes to say your goodbyes to everyone. You all are welcome to wait in the family surgical waiting room on the 8th floor while we have her in surgery, and I'll come out and give you an update as soon as we finish up her operation. She'll be in recovery for the first few hours after the surgery, but should be back down here in her room by 6 pm as long as everything goes well." And with that, Dr. Jameson stood to leave, shaking Richard Castle's hand as offered on his way out of the room.
Dr. Adams was the next to speak. "Okay detective, I just have a few quick questions and then I'm going to administer your medications and get out of your hair for a few minutes. Just to check, are you allergic to any medications?"
"Cephalosporins and penicillins," responded Castle automatically before Kate had an opportunity to respond. She simply nodded her head in agreement and gave Castle a curious look, wondering how he'd managed to remember that small tidbit of information about her. Maybe listing him as her emergency contact had been a smart decision, she thought wryly. First he flies in rock star doctors and now he seems to have memorized her entire medical file.
"Okay, and do you have any major medical conditions I should be aware of? Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart palpitations?"
"No," Kate responded quickly. "Nothing but a history of migraines."
"Okay, any previous surgeries?" continued Dr. Adams.
"Yeah, I had my tonsils out when I was seven, and my appendix out almost four years ago,"
"Great," said Dr. Adams, scribbling furiously on her chart. "Any problems with anesthesia? Anyone in your family ever had a bad reaction to anesthesia?"
Beckett looked to Lanie this time, unsure as to whether or not to mention her previous experience, but feeling very uncomfortable at the thought bringing that situation up with a room full of people listening.
Lanie shook her head and Kate answered, "No, no problems with anesthesia," quickly.
Jim Beckett cleared his throat as he remembered a bit of family history to add. "Katie actually had a second cousin on her mother's side that died of malignant hyperthermia when she underwent a heart bypass at 42. I don't know if that's relevant, but I remember that my wife's GP used to make her list in on her medical forms."
Dt. Adams nodded, making another note in the chart. "Yes, that's something we always want to be aware of since there is sometimes a genetic component with anesthesia allergies. But the good news is that it wasn't a close relative and Kate has undergone anesthesia in the past without any issues, so that tells me her risk is relatively low."
Dr. Adams looked at Kate's monitor, carefully copying down her most recent vital signs in the chart. He closed her chart with a snap and slid it into the slot at the end of her bed. "Okay, I'm going to go ahead and administer your pre-surgery medications and then I'll head upstairs and give you a few minutes with your friends and family before we get started. I'll be giving you the same medication I gave you earlier for pain and relaxation. This is your pain medication, Fentanyl," Dr. Adams explained as he pulled out a syringe and slowly emptied to the contents into the detective's waiting IV port. "This is Valium," he continued, carefully pushing the contents of the syringe into the IV port slowly, being sure to administer no more than one milligram at a time. "You should start to feel sleepy and relaxed in a few minutes."
Dr. Adams turned to the two nurses who were waiting at their patient's bedside. "Okay Amy, could you go ahead and administer the rest of her standing pre-op orders? Let's go ahead and hang the Vancomycin now instead of waiting until we get her into the OR and infuse the Reglan too since we are going to be starting the surgery a little early. I don't want her getting nauseous from the Fentanyl before we get her upstairs, so let's have Phenergan on standby too in case the Reglan isn't enough to soothe her stomach."
Amy nodded and looked to Jaime, who handed her one of two small IV piggyback bags he'd been holding. She quietly began to hook the small bag up to Kate's IV tubing, pressing several buttons on the IV pole to adjust the drip rate. Jaime began to wordlessly hook up the second bag of IV medication, making sure that he opened the dial flow to allow the medication to run into Kate's IV unimpeded.
"Right, okay. We're going to give you all a few minutes to say goodbye to Kate. Mr. Castle, would you please come and get me when you are all through? We'd like to get Kate up to the OR in the next ten minutes, so try to make it as quick as possible," spoke Amy. Amy, Jaime, and Dr. Adams quickly gathered their medical equipment and left the room, leaving Kate alone with her many visitors.
Detective Ryan was the first to get up to say his goodbye. He carefully made his way to Beckett's side, reaching out a hand to gently rub her uninjured left arm as he wished her well.
"Hey Beckett, you take care of yourself, okay? I hope the surgery goes well. I'm going to head into the 12th for a little bit to follow up on some leads on the shooter, but I'll be back this evening to check on you. Jenny sends her love too. She'll probably come with me tonight if that's okay." He paused, unsure as to whether or not to say more before deciding that Kate would want to hear the rest of what he had to say. "Look Beckett, Esposito and I are going to catch the bastard that ordered the Captain's execution and shot you. Whoever did this won't get away with it, I promise. Okay?"
Kate smiled at Ryan, relieved to here that he was still as fired up about this investigation as she'd been only days before. It was clear that Roy's death had made this case personal, not just to her but to the entire 12th precinct as well. "Thanks Ryan, I appreciate it. I know I'm sort of an invalid at the moment, but please keep me updated on the investigation, okay? Hopefully when I'm a little less loopy from all the meds I can even toss around some theories with you and Esposito, yeah?"
Kevin smiled warmly at her. "Sounds good, Kate" defaulting to the rare use of Beckett's first name. "See you soon," he finished as he stepped away from Beckett's bed and headed towards the door.
"Martha? Alexis? I'm going to step outside and make sure we're all clear in the hall. I'll be waiting for you."
Lanie and Esposito were the next to walk to Kate's bedside. Lanie stood back slightly, allowing Javier to speak first.
"Hey girl," Esposito said, squeezing Kate's uninjured shoulder gently. "Good luck with your surgery. You hang in there, okay? I'm going to stay at the hospital and take the next shift with the protective detail, but I just wanted you to know that we've got protective details on everyone in your life including your dad, Castle's mom and daughter, and Lanie, so you don't need to worry about anything but getting better right now, got it? You let me know if you need anything. I'll see you this evening after your surgery."
"Thanks Esposito..." Kate said, her words starting to slur slightly as the pain medications and sedatives took effect. "For everything. You take care of Lanie, okay?" she urged, looking at her best friend.
"You know I will," Javier replied warmly, his eyes going to Lanie's beautiful face.
Lanie was next to speak. She gently brought her hand to Kate's temple, stroking her best friend's hair as she spoke. "Alright Kate, we're going to clear out and give you a few minutes with your dad and Castle, but I just want you to know that you're going to be fine. Dr. Jameson is the best. Trust me, Castle and I are sure of it." Lanie lowered her a voice to barely above a whisper as she continued, not wanting the rest of the room hearing what she had to say next. "We're all going to be here as soon as you wake up from surgery. I know you've got to be scared, but this surgery won't be anything like last time, okay? We'll make sure that Castle's there when you wake up, so you have nothing to worry about. Love you, girl. See you soon."
"Thanks Lanie," Kate responded, finding that her eyelids were becoming heavier and heavier. "Make sure that the surgeon doesn't crack my chest, okay? I don't think I could handle an extra six months of recovery time."
Lanie chuckled at Kate's request. "I'll do what I can. I don't think we could handle you going stir cray and climbing the walls if you were forced to recuperate for an extra six moths. You'd have us all doubting our sanity by the end of things. I'll make sure that Dr. Jameson keeps it laparoscopic like we discussed. In fact, I'm going to go have a little chat with your nurses and doctors right now, but I'll see you soon, okay?"
Kate nodded, and watched as Esposito put a reassuring arm around Lanie's shoulders.
"I'll walk you out," said Javier.
Martha and Alexis seemed to take this as their cue to talk to Beckett, knowing that she'd likely want a few private moments with her father before she was taken up for surgery. Martha was the first to speak.
"Well Kate, we're so glad to see you up and talking again. Good luck with your surgery. It looks like Richard's got a pretty good surgical team lined up." Martha paused, not quite sure as how to communicate what an important part of their family Kate had become, not just to Richard, but to her and Alexis as well. She decided to go with the truth and forged on. "Alexis and I were so worried when we saw that you'd been shot, and we're so relieved that you are going to be okay. Whether you like it or not, we've come to think of you as another member of the family, so we'd like to be here when you wake up from your surgery if that's okay with you..." Martha trailed off, unsure as whether or not to say more.
Kate smiled, incredibly touched by Martha's use of the word "family." If she was being honest, she'd come to feel as if the Castles were a surrogate family for her as well, starting with when she'd stayed with them after her apartment had been blown up by an obsessed Nikki Heat fan. While she stayed there, she'd found herself relishing the comfortable domesticity of helping Castle make eggs and pancakes for his family on a lazy Saturday morning and had immediately fallen even more in love with Castle when she'd seen him in his element as a hands-on father to Alexis. And now that many of the things she'd felt for Castle for a long time were out on the table? Well, Kate could see many more lazy Saturday mornings in her PJs at Castle's in the future assuming that things can continued to progress as they had so far.
"Thanks so much, Martha. As far as I'm concerned, you and Alexis are family, so please feel free to stay this afternoon and evening if you'd like."
Martha smiled down at the detective and before she had a minute to second guess herself, she bent down and gave Kate a quick peck on the forehead, much in the same way she did to Richard before telling him goodnight or sending him off to a crime scene on the harsh streets of New York.
Kate's eyes closed involuntarily as Martha bent to kiss her forehead, caught in a memory of her mother. Martha kissed Kate on the forehead much in the same way her mother, Johanna Beckett, had bent to kiss her before bed every night when Kate had been a little girl. For a moment, Kate allowed herself to think of her mother and felt safe, warm, and loved.
Alexis was the next to speak. She stood over Kate shyly, looking as if she wanted desperately to pull the detective into a tight hug, but seeming unsure as how to do so without hurting Beckett or disturbing any of the many tubes and monitors. She settled for placing a hand on Beckett's upper arm as she spoke.
"Detective Beckett, I..." Alexis began politely.
"Please Alexis, call me Kate," Kate requested, smiling up into Alexis's bright blue eyes that reminded Kate so much of Rick's gorgeous, inquisitive, sparkling eyes.
Alexis smiled shyly. "Kate, I hope everything goes well with your surgery. I know my dad will take good care of you. I...we all love you lots and want you to get well soon so you can go back to bossing my dad around. Someone has to keep him in line," she admonished. "We'll be here when you get out of surgery. Is there anything I can do or get for you in the meantime?" asked Alexis helpfully.
Kate grinned, feeling a surprising lump in her throat at Alexis's declaration of love from the whole Castle family. She knew that Alexis was extremely bright and wondered if she'd already picked up on the love shared between her and Alexis's father. She gave a quick glance to Castle and was surprised to see he looked somewhat choked up himself as she watched two of the women he loved most in the world interact.
"Sure Alexis, you know what I really need you to do? Can you take care of your dad for me while I'm in surgery? I don't think he got any sleep last night and he could probably use a shower and change of clothes since he is starting to get a little...ripe at the moment."
"Totally," Alexis whispered conspiratorially. "I'm on it."
Castle grinned at the two of them. "Hey, hey, hey...no fair ganging up on poor old me. I'm going to be in big trouble if the two of you start scheming against me."
"You bet you are," Kate responded with a teasing tone to her voice that indicated the possibility of good things to come.
"Okay Alexis," Martha urged. "Let's give Kate a few minutes alone with her father." Alexis impulsively bent down and gave the detective a quick kiss on the cheek before linking arms with Gram and walking out the door.
"Dad, we will be just outside," Alexis reported as she opened the door to the hallway.
Rick nodded and looked to Jim and Kate. "I should go..." he started. "I can give you a few moments of privacy, but..."
Before Rick could continue, Jim and Kate spoke up. "No no..." they said, almost in unison.
Kate continued. "Castle, it's fine. You can stay for this. I want you here."
Jim nodded his agreement, taking his place at Kate's bedside where Alexis had stood only moments earlier. He resumed stroking his daughter's hair as he spoke to her.
"Well Katie, I just want you to know how much I love you before you go into surgery," started Jim, already fighting back tears at the thought of the tortuous hours of waiting ahead of him. "You're a fighter, Katie. You get that from your mother. Just don't stop fighting, okay sweetheart? There are so many people pulling for you, Katie. Don't ever doubt that you are so loved. Not for a second. And Katie? I know it is hard, but you've got to let other people...people like Rick here in. You need to let them take care of you. You don't have to be a hero, you know that Katie? You don't have to be strong all the time."
A single tear ran down Kate's cheek as she listened to her dad speak. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts to respond to her father. "I'll try, dad. I really will. I have something for you," she continued, looking to Castle who wordlessly reached into the top drawer of Kate's bedside table, removing a long chain holding Johanna Beckett's wedding ring and Jim's watch, a daily reminder of when Kate had saved him life by getting him sober, and handing them over to Jim gingerly.
"I was hoping you could keep them safe for me right now since they won't let me wear them into surgery," Kate asked. "Remember what the watch signifies, Dad. It should be a reminder to you not to go down that rabbit hole again, okay? I know it has to be scary to have me in the hospital after you lost Mom so suddenly but I"m going to be fine, alright? If you start to get the urge to drink again, talk to someone, call your sponsor, or go to a meeting."
Jim looked down, slightly ashamed that his only daughter was lying helpless in a hospital bed and about to undergo major surgery but despite this, her major concerns were not for herself, but for helping her father to maintain his sobriety. "I will, Katie. I promise. I'm in a good place right now, surprisingly enough. I'll keep these safe for you right now until you are ready to take them back," Jim continued, slipping the silver chain around his neck and tucking it out of sight beneath his shirt and strapping the watch to his wrist.
"I love you, Dad," Kate finished simply. "I'll see you soon, okay?"
Jim nodded, ignoring the tears that had started to fill his eyes despite his best efforts to stay strong for his daughter. "I love you too, sweetheart," Jim responded, bending down to kiss her on the forehead. "I'll see you soon."
Kate nodded and Jim stood to leave. "Rick, I'm going to step out and give you two a few minutes alone. When you're done, I'll walk with you up to the surgical waiting room on the 8th floor, okay?"
Castle nodded his approval. "Thanks Jim," he responded, reaching out and shaking Jim's hand before he left the room.
The door shut behind him with a soft click, leaving Rick and Kate alone together. Instantly, Castle scooted his chair closer to Kate's bedside. He lifted Kate's hand, still tightly grasped in his, and settled it over her heart so that Rick could faintly feel the reassuring beat of Kate's heart against the back of his hand. His other hand went to Kate's hair, gently stroking it much as Kate's father had done only minutes earlier. Castle and Beckett were both silent for several seconds, saying with glances what they could not say in words.
Castle was the first to speak. "How you doing, honey?" he asked simply.
"Okay," Kate sighed. "Tired...scared," she continued honestly.
"Yeah?" Castle asked. "There's no reason to be scared, sweetheart. You've got the best nurses and taking care of you, so the surgery is going to go just fine. I know you are worried about afterwards, but I promise I'll be right there holding your hand when you wake up, okay? You won't have to be alone...not for a minute." Castle looked up to see Kate's eyes filling with tears, and felt something inside of him break with a strong desire to wrap Kate in his arms and hold her while he told her everything would be alright.
Castle gently brought his hand to Kate's cheek and wiped away the tears that had started to spill onto her cheek with his thumb. "I know it's hard right now honey, but I hope you truly know how much you are loved and admired. I love you so much. You amaze me every day with your strength and kindness. And as long as you'll have me, I'm going to be here, doing what I can to show you just how much you mean to me, okay?"
The tears were falling freely now due to Kate being moved by Castle's words. "I love you too, Rick. You're the only reason I kept fighting. As long as you're here, I know I can face anything. Just don't let go of my hand, okay?"
Rick gave Kate's hand a gentle squeeze in response. "I'll make you a deal, sweetheart. Your medicine should be kicking in by now and you look exhausted. Just close your eyes and rest, and when you wake up, it will be all over and I'll be right here, still holding your hand."
And with that, Rick placed a gentle kiss on Kate's forehead, watching her eyes slip closed as she allowed the medications to pull her under, secure for the moment in the knowledge that she was loved more than she ever thought possible.
So, what did you think of this chapter? Hopefully you liked it better than the last one. I know I do. How'd I do at capturing the voices of the other characters? Is there something you want to see in an upcoming chapter? Think we can pass 100 reviews by noon? Please review and let me know what you are thinking. As always, thanks for reading!