Our story is wrapping up...Yes, Kate is stubborn, but actually behaving some...As for the kidnappers...the team figures out who they are and sets a trap..with Kate as bait...Hope you enjoy
Ladies, my faithful betas...thanks...
XXOO, Melody
Two days had passed and Kate was getting restless. She was chomping at the bit to get moving, get out of bed and walk around. She had agreed to Steve's plan, she had tried to sit on the edge of the bed which had been a disaster, but now she wanted to push the limits.
On Steve's morning rounds, she pressured him to let her get out of bed.
"I thought you agreed to wait until I removed the chest tube?"
"For God sakes, I just want to walk some, what could it hurt? The inactivity is killing me." Kate was not about to give in.
"Kate, you've started eating enough and I've taken the feeding tube out, but now you're pushing."
"I appreciate getting the tube out, stopping the IV pain medications, but I'm never going to be strong enough to go home unless I get up. I won't push it, I promise."
"I don't trust you." Steve stared Kate square in the eye, before he continued. "But if you promise just to stand for a few minutes, no stretching, no walking. I'll let you get up."
"Okay, okay, I promise." She was busy smiling at him, trying to win him over.
Rick, Alexis and Angela stood back, watching the negotiations. Rick was very suspicious of Kate's ability to stand up. The Chest tube was still draining a moderate amount and her oxygen levels dropped when she turned over, with or without help. She remained ghostly pale, even with Steve telling him her blood levels were low but stable.
"When's the last time she had anything for pain?" Steve asked Angela, but before Angela could tell him it had been over three hours, Kate impatiently stated,
"I don't need anything for pain. I need to stand up, come on."
Angela rolled her eyes, but decided to get all of the tubes in the correct position. Once she had accomplished the tube management, she glanced over at Steve, who raised his eyebrows,. Angela shook her head in a negative expression, even though she believed Kate was over doing it, she kept quiet.
With the tubes organized, Kate placed her right arm on Angela's shoulder and took a couple of deep breaths as her legs were pivoted until they were hanging off the edge of the bed. That minor movement caused Kate's stomach to roll, but she was too determined to let that beat her.
"Wiggle your toes and feet, Kate, sit up straight, get your bearings and when you're ready, you can stand up. Use your legs." Steve instructed.
Kate had a firm grip on her left side; keeping her eyes focused forward, she nodded she was ready. She stood up slowly, Angela on one side, Rick on the other, while Alexis made sure the tubes were safe and Steve kept an eye on Kate.
Instantly, Kate felt lightheaded and weak, but she was determined not to give in. She tried to stand up straight, but was not able to accomplish her task. She kept her eyes open, but the dizziness was getting worse. Angela and Rick could feel her trembling and her skin was wet.
Steve was watching closely as the remaining color in her face rapidly left. Kate was so stubborn, even though she was practically out on her feet, she refused to give up.
Just as she started to pass out, Kate felt her body being returned to the bed and her legs pivoted into position. The tubes were repositioned and the head of her bed was lowered some.
Kate's head was throbbing, her ears were buzzing, and any effort to look around only produced double images. Kate licked her lips and tried to calm down. A cool damp rag went over her face and was left on her forehead.
"So hot shot, how was that?" Rick asked sarcastically.
She gave the people standing by her bed, a withering gaze, as the voices kept fading in and out.
Steve's voice broke through her haze and she turned to look at him.
"You are so stubborn. Will you admit you may not have been ready?"
"You made your point. How do you suggest we do this the next time?" Her voice was shaky and certainly irritated at the initial results.
"First, the tubes come out. Then you take something for pain about thirty minutes before you get up. I'm going to recheck your blood count, you really got pale, too pale I think. You are also on too much oxygen right now, you don't have the reserve to do much more than what you just did."
Her lips were pursed, Rick could tell she was aggravated, but she listened to what Steve said, without arguing. Angela came in and offered her some pain medication, she raised a brow but took the medication and washed it down.
"You did really well, love." Rick spoke trying to be encouraging.
"Seriously, were you in the room?" Kate was revolted with her performance. Alexis was stroking her arm in support.
"I think you've forgotten how disastrous it was the first time you got out of bed after you were shot."
"Now is not a good time to bring that up." Kate's words were hard and she was getting angrier by the minute.
Rick leaned in and kissed Kate's forehead. "Okay, I'll be quiet."
Steve excused himself, saying he would return the next day. Kate shook her head in despair. Angela was by her side and spoke softly for only her to hear. "It will get easier; we'll keep working on it. Trust me, you'll do fine. I'm going to draw some blood, it may be that you are still anemic enough to cause the dizziness."
Kate closed her eyes and let the effect of the drugs transport her away from her current reality. It was obvious, she couldn't rush her recovery, though she had wanted to progress faster, her body was not ready.
She awoke in time to watch Amy, her night nurse, hang a blood transfusion.
"Welcome back, Kate. You're blood count was dangerously low, so I'm giving you some blood. Go back to sleep. Alexis and Rick will be back shortly. They went to get some of your favorite pasta from Becco's. Lidia, the owner, was in the restaurant tonight and she made you some special food, but wouldn't tell Rick what she was sending."
Kate closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Her next recollection was something that smelled divine.
"Interested in some food?" Rick chimed in.
Kate smiled up at her partner and nodded. After they finished eating, Alexis suggested they throw a DVD of the latest adventure movie in. Everyone got comfortable, Amy helped get Kate cleaned up and ready for bed in case she fell asleep, Alexis got into her PJ's and before starting the movie, Kate motioned for Alexis to join her in her bed.
Alexis willingly joined her, ensuring Kate's tubes and her side were protected. Everyone settled down ready to start the movie, which was typical of the usual adventure genre and in no time both of the women were dozing off, while Rick did some writing, but mostly watching his loved ones.
Kate had a little more color in her face after receiving a couple of units of blood, her pulse rate was down and her oxygen level had improved.
The night was uneventful, Alexis had gotten used to sleeping next to Kate, her nightmares had greatly reduced and when she did have one, Kate would bring her out of it, comfort her and they would both return to sleep.
The next couple of days went by with little changes, until Steve came in and said it was time to remove Kate's chest tube. This was a small victory, and after the tube was removed, Kate could take a deeper breath without feeling as if she was being stabbed.
Later in the day, Kate stood again and this time felt steadier, though still wobbly. Angela suggested she try and walk to the door. Kate was thrilled, but took it slowly and got there and back. She was proud of her effort, though not too surprisingly she slept most of the afternoon away, recovering from her walk.
As she woke up, she heard familiar voices, but decided to remain still and listen without giving herself away.
Espo and Ryan were there explaining they hadn't gotten very far on the identities of the kidnappers. They asked Alexis to describe some of the kidnappers' mannerisms as she remembered. With each description, Kate's heart started to pound, she knew these men. She squeezed her eyes tight, trying to place them. Alexis said something about one of the men cracking his thumb and Kate's eyes flew open.
"Son of a bitch!" Kate was up, leaning on her right side. Everyone in the room turned to look in her direction
"These men are from the tenth precinct. They are part of the group who were indicted for crimes last year."
"Espo, what was the name of the desk sergeant? And the guys that followed him everywhere, there were three more buddies of his..." Kate needed to take a deep breath before continuing, slightly short of breath from talking.
"Ryan, pull up the members of the tenth precinct, our kidnappers will be there. I would bet my life on it." The exertion exhausted Kate and she laid back to regroup.
Several hours later, with Alexis' help, they had identified all of the men they believed responsible for the kidnapping. The one man who had inflicted most of the beatings on Kate was indeed the sergeant, James Groves. He was a long time cop, one Kate had always suspected was working illegally.
Castle was furious, and looking at Groves' picture rage was building inside him. He wanted just a few minutes with this despicable man, leaving him worse for wear. The boys saw his demeanor change as he stared at the main culprit.
"Forget it, Castle. We'll get him, we'll make him pay, but he's not the boss.
"Yeah, he's not smart enough." Ryan stated with conviction.
"While we were being filmed, Groves kept saying he wanted to kill Kate, but the boss told him no." Alexis interjected.
"It has to be someone in the precinct, someone in authority, but not the captain. The captain of the tenth is a great cop, very honorable and a friend of Captain Montgomery."
"We need to trap him, before we bring the others in, otherwise he will escape."
"Beckett, are you up for playing bait?"
"What? Are you crazy? Kate is not going to be like the goat tied to a stake in Jurassic Park. I forbid it." Rick was furious and terrified at the same time.
Everyone in the room laughed at his outburst.
"Seriously Rick. You forbid it. I don't think so." Kate's eyes were on fire from his edict.
"You can barely hold a glass, let alone be on the top of your game for a sting."
"We'll figure it out. You worry too much. Besides first we have evidence to gather."
All of the detectives laid out the various pieces of evidence they believed they needed before they could set up the sting. Ryan went out and bought back a murder board to lay everything out systematically.
Ryan called Captain Gates and talked about what they had found. They all thought they needed to discuss how to proceed, get some subpoenas for various pieces of evidence they needed, including phone records and bank accounts. Some of the information they had already compiled for the grand jury for the current case brought against the suspects.
They were busy going over the case as it was being laid out, but Kate had lost some of her enthusiasm because she was getting tired and the pain was returning, including her headache.
Angela had entered the room, and observing what was going on, left and came back. Going over to Kate, she poked Kate's shoulder and handed her pain pills and water. Kate didn't argue, taking the medication she knew she needed.
The boys were expecting Captain Gates at any time. Kate was unable to keep her eyes open and soon had drifted off to sleep.
When Captain Gates arrived, the boys and she started to leave when they were interrupted.
"Guys, I want in on this, don't leave, I'll listen." Kate asked, while her eyes remained closed.
Castle was in the background, sulking, he did not like the direction of this investigation and the real possibility of using Kate as bait, but he was fairly certain he wasn't going to be given a choice.
Captain Gates listened carefully, asking pertinent questions. Ryan and Espo did a first rate job laying everything out for her. Kate let herself float in and out, knowing the boys didn't need her input for this.
Kate finally opened her eyes as they were finishing up the presentation. Captain Gates suggested they bring the District attorney in on the plan to ensure they didn't lose the arrest.
Kate had been thinking about who the leader could be and she threw out the name of Lieutenant Samuels. All of the detectives discussed this possibility, it made sense that he was behind everything, in fact he was probably the leader behind the original indictment.
As they ended, Kate brought up being the bait to try to trap the police officers and their lieutenant. Captain Gates frowned and paced across the room.
"Detective Beckett, I'm not sure you are physically strong enough. I won't let you be in danger."
Castle finally spoke up. "I agree, she's too sick, those bastards could hurt her again."
"Castle, we have this planned out. We won't let anything happen to her." Espo stated.
Ryan, Espo and Kate laid out their plan. Captain Gates, asked some questions, and ultimately agreed this was the best approach.
"Get the evidence you need, then I will announce to the tenth precinct command staff that Detective Beckett is awake and I'm going to interview her the next day. That should scare them into proceeding."
The next two days, the boys collected information and evidence, placing it on the board.
As they put the final touches on the data collection, Rick became agitated, he was determined to keep Kate out of harm's way. Kate could see his concern and after the boys left, called Castle over to her, inviting him to lie down next to him.
"Rick, I will be very careful, remember this is what I do. I need to do this for both Alexis and myself." She was nibbling at his neck, working her magic on him and he finally agreed to not interfere with the operation.
Hope you enjoyed this..one more chapter to go..let me know how I did.