Thanks to fabulous reader/reviewer I'mWidget for this one: you gave me the idea and I found a verse to fit. As Romanians say, multumesc!

Still trying to recover from the heart attack called To Live And Die In LA. Frickin A, people. Ima need an inhaler by the time this season ends. This is even worse than early Bones for So Damn Close moments.

This is a sequel to chapter 11, Mandaliet; it follows immediately as Beckett leaves Castle's hospital room.


Estuans interius

Cum sit enim proprium
viro sapienti
supra petram ponere
sedem fundamenti,
stultus ego comparor
fluvio labenti,
sub eodem tramite
nunquam permanenti.

If it is proper
for the wise man
to build his foundations
upon stone,
then I am a fool,
like a flowing river
whose course
is always changing.


With another deep breath to steady herself – she'd had her personal time; right now Castle's family needed her to be strong – Beckett straightened her jacket and turned to go back to the waiting room to send Martha in to see her son.

"Kate?"

She turned back down the hallway to find Josh coming towards her, surprise written across his face. "This is a nice surprise! I thought you were on duty today."

"Josh, Castle got shot."

"He – oh! Oh, man. I'm sorry to hear about that. Is he still in surgery?"

"No – uh, he's in there. He came out fine."

"I'm glad he's all right."

She smiled, a little watery. "Yeah." She would not cry for another man in front of her boyfriend.

"Anyone else hurt?"

She shook her head. "We got lucky."

He nodded, looking at her a little more closely. "You look a little wired. You sure you're okay?"

My partner just soaked through my shirt with his blood. Sorry if I'm not thrilled to see you.

"I'm fine." She ran her hand through her hair.

"What is that?"

She followed his gaze to find the diamond ring on her finger sparkling fiercely under the fluorescent lights. Her heart sank. This probably looked bad.

"It – it's not – it's Martha's." There was no way this was going to be comfortable. "She put it on so I could go into his room."

Josh knew hospital policies. "Family only?" She nodded silently. "You pretended you were his wife?"

"Fiancée." Yeah, Kate, like that's better.

Josh's face went blank, and he took a step back. "God, Kate. You couldn't have just said you're police?"

"I didn't – Martha did it, I didn't tell her to."

He shook his head, putting his hands up. "Of course not. Just – whatever. We can talk about this later."

"Talk about what? My partner got shot in front of me, Josh. He fell onto me and I thought he was going to die in my arms. Excuse me if your feelings getting hurt hasn't been the first thing on my mind," she hissed, trying not to raise her voice. The door to Castle's room was open, and there were nurses down the hallway.

"I just don't like the way he clings on you."

"I was standing next to him. It's not like he did it on purpose."

"No, I mean I don't like how he – "

"No, you don't like the fact that he sees me every day and you don't. And he gives a rat's ass what's going on in my life and you don't want to know the unpleasant parts. Are we done? Because his mother and daughter are waiting to see him."

Josh sighed. "Look, I have to go. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Don't bother. I'll be at work. Doing my job."

"Kate – I'm sorry, okay? I – "

"Save it. We're done here."

She turned on her heel, walking away without looking back. On a sudden whim, she headed back into Castle's room. Nothing had changed; it looked like he hadn't moved. The heart monitor seemed to show a slightly quicker pulse, and his blood pressure and temperature were slowly coming back to normal, but other than that, all was just as she'd left it.

Biting her lip, Kate twisted the ring around her finger a few times, and looked down at his scratched face. "Castle, I think Josh and I are breaking up. So – if you – when you wake up, I wouldn't say no to getting dinner sometime, okay?"

And she thought maybe she imagined it, but she could have sworn, looking at the monitor, that his heart skipped a beat.