CH13 (34)
"She's awake." Rick called out as soon as the door opened into the waiting room.
That got Kate, who was holding Alexander in her arms, up out of her chair in a heartbeat followed closely by Martha.
"Alexis, how you feeling?" Kate was next to her bed. Kate had been scared out of her mind, till now.
"Give him to me mom?" Alexis held out her good arm.
"Oh pumpkin you're hurt, I don't think, …." Alexis however interrupts her.
"Only on one side mom. … please." Alexis flexed her hand while stretching out her good arm.
Kate gave in and worked slowly to put Alexander on her good side so Alexis could hold onto him.
Alexis looked down on Alexander and smiled. Then tried to bend her head down to kiss the top of his head. This however caused her bad shoulder to move and instead of getting a kiss, Alexander got a hiss of pain from his big sister instead.
"Alexis?" Kate was instantly concerned.
"It's just a little pain mom, it's nothing." Alexis shakes her head.
"I'll find a nurse." Martha tells them and heads off in search of a nurse.
Alexis didn't see Rick. "Mom, he's dad. I know he is."
"Pumpkin, I know both of us miss him and want him back, but we're fooling ourselves. Castle is gone sweetie." Kate wanted to believe, but people didn't come back from the dead.
"You promised not to give up mom. Dad never gave up on you, and you did hear him after he was gone." Alexis needed her mom not to give up. "And you haven't heard him since Alex was born." Alexis points out.
Kate moans and shakes her head. Kate wasn't going to run from Rick but Castle was gone.
"You didn't believe when you heard dad, don't give up on him now mom. You just need to believe." Alexis pleads while playing with Alexander's hand, who was being quiet. "I think he is lost. He is confused between where he was and where he is now and just doesn't remember. … Remember the board mom." Alexis plays what she thinks might be her last card.
"You want me to believe." Kate runs her hands through her hair that needs to be cleaned. But then so did the rest of her. Martha probably did too.
"Fine pumpkin, fine. … I believe, it's stupid but I believe. … Now how do we help Rick believe?" They may believe but how do you get someone who can't remember anyone to remember them?
Nice use of the scene from Miracle on 34th street mom. Maybe that will be the next movie we bet on when Christmas comes.
"He's writing a Nikki Heat book, … maybe if you get him to read one of dad's books, it will help him remember. Nikki is based off of you mom, so maybe he can get from Nikki to you." Alexis offers.
Kate thought about it, Castle had written a lot of books. It was something from his past. "Maybe dinner at the loft after you are out of the hospital. It was his home." Kate offers in addition to the books.
"Take him into the precinct too mom, that was part of dad's life, your work is why he thought up Nikkin Heat." Alexis offers. "Oooo, take him to the Hamptons. Dad loved the ocean breeze." Alexis thought that might be an even better idea.
Kate didn't know about the take him to work part. Ask Rick to follow her around at work? Ryan and Espo might not have a problem. Kate didn't want to know what Lanie would think. But Roy? …. That was something else.
"Don't give up on Rick, don't give up on Rick. I hope I'm up for this pumpkin. You're asking for a lot." Kate was worried that this wasn't going to work, or maybe she was worried that it would.
"We can do it mom." If they succeeded she got her dad back.
"I hear you're awake." A new voice speaks up as a nurse walks in.
"Give me Alexander, pumpkin." Kate reaches in to take Alexander from her. Then leaves the room to let the nurse work.
Kate however doesn't go to the waiting room where she suspects Rick was, and then notices Martha step up next to her.
Kate looks at Martha. "How much of that did you hear Martha?" Kate knew they had talked too long.
"I thought I was going mad when I first started hearing Richard's voice. Hearing what I wanted to hear because I didn't want to lose my son. But he never really talked to me, not a real conversation." Martha starts off with.
"I'm so sorry Martha, we didn't know if he was talking to you too, and if he wasn't, …. I just couldn't do that to you Martha. We may have loved him, but he was your son." Kate adjusted Alexander in her arms. Kate now understood the bond between mother and son.
"It's alright dear, I didn't know how to tell you either. I'm just glad you two were talking and sharing." Martha meant Kate and Alexis talking to each other. "Do you really think he's in there somewhere?"
"I don't know Martha. … I know Alexis believes. But does she really believe or because she wants to believe? … And I thought believing that Castle was talking to me was hard. Now I'm supposed to believe that he has come back to us and is inside Rick. Just lost and confused." Kate's heart wants to believe, but she doesn't have Castle and/or Alexis's belief of this possibility as much as they do, did.
Martha wasn't sure she did either, but now she knows her son and been talking to Katherine and his daughter, and that helped. "Do what Alexis says dear, if she is the one who has the vision to see her father, then we follow her lead. … What do we have to lose?" And so much to gain.
"We wait for the nurse to finish with Alexis and talk with her, and then I think we need to go home. I can't begin to remember when I last had a bath; I'm probably stinking up the place. I wonder what home even looks like now." Did they even have a front door?
They finally noticed that the nurse had left so they both went back to Alexis. "Martha overheard us talking." Kate tells Alexis.
"Grams!" Alexis was so sorry.
"It's alright dear. … At least I know I wasn't the only one Richard was talking to and that I just didn't make it up." Martha gave Alexis her best actress smile she could.
"I'm sorry grams, it's just we didn't want to hurt you." Knowing her dad had talked to her only helped solidify her belief that her dad was in Rick.
"Mom, …" However Kate interrupts her.
"I know pumpkin, we're going to go home and take a shower and take Rick with us. I think I'll start with giving him Heat Wave and send him home to read it. We can go from there. You get some rest pumpkin. The sooner you're better, the sooner you are home." Kate leans in as best she can to kiss her cheek. "You're the one that really believes pumpkin, I'm not sure just what to do."
"Don't give up mom. …. Bye Alex, bye grams." Alexis didn't want to get left behind, she wanted to go home and help them, but knew she couldn't.
Kate still couldn't get into the underground parking garage of her building. There were still 2 uniforms on the building'sfront door of the building, then found 2 more at her front door.
The security guy was here, replacing the bottle and checking the system. "Your security system is undamaged. I've added a skin irritant to the tear gas bottle. It should make things a little more unpleasant for someone." He gave his thanks for using their company and excused himself. "Someone will be out tomorrow to add a hidden camera looking down the hallway to the elevator. He's also going to add an infrared trip wire that will activate the internal alarm and give you a picture." He adds at the door.
The front door could be closed, it just couldn't be locked.
Rick had been reluctant to come up with them but he did anyway. Rick stopped just inside the door and just stood there taking it all in.
There was a 2 man crew cleaning the floor where the 2 guys Kate had shot had fallen.
Rick didn't understand but knew there was a study behind all those books. There were 3 bedrooms upstairs along with a Jack and Jill bathroom. The master bedroom and on-suite were over there. He just knew the sofa was comfortable and that the cabinet on the wall had a massive DVD collection in it.
"I'm going to go upstairs and shower Katherine. … Make yourself at home dear." Martha touches Rick's arm and retreats upstairs.
Kate has put Alexander in his carrier for now and walks over to the books and pulls one down. Then walks over to Rick. "Here, something for you to read. My husband wrote it, along with a number of others. It's the first in a series of books. When you finish I can give you the next one." Kate looked up at him smiling. Was this going to work, Alexis thought so.
"You should go home Rick, it's been a long day for both of us, … well all of us." Kate twists to look at Alexander, then back around to look at Rick.
"Go home and read Rick, its pretty good. I'll call you later." Kate lifts her hands to place one on each side of his face and pulls his head down while lifting up on her toes and kisses him.
After breaking from the kiss, Kate rests her head on his chest. "Thank you for today." Kate squeezes him and then releases him to lift up on her toes again to give him a quick kiss.
While looking into his eyes Kate patted her hands on his chest. "Go home and read Rick, I'll call you later. Maybe when you are done we can eat dinner somewhere." Meaning a home cooked meal right here. After her door is replaced.
Kate watches him go down the hallway and into the elevator before turning back around and wait for the cleaning guys to finish, so she can go take a much wanted shower, or better still, a nice hot bath.
After the cleaning crew had gone Kate closed the front door with the two uniforms right outside. It wasn't until Martha came back downstairs that Kate went to take a shower. A hot bath would have to wait for later. "No ordering out Martha, I'm cooking." Kate pointed her finger at Martha.
Problem was Alexander wanted to be fed first, so up to the nursery Kate took him. "I'm still cooking when I'm done Martha, so don't go getting any ideas." Kate knew Martha pretty well by now.
After nursing Alexander, Kate put him in his crib and went downstairs to start putting lunch together. Neither of them had, had dinner the night before nor breakfast this morning.
Kate even put some sandwiches together along with bottles of water and gave them to the two uniforms at the front of the building and the two on her front door.
Clean, satisfied that everyone had been fed. "I'm taking a nap Martha, I can't even begin to remember when I had any sleep. Oh wait, something else first." Kate walked for the study and opened the safe and pulled out some papers.
Yup, sure enough, Castle had a contact in the FBI. "Bless you Castle."
Thirty minutes later he had everything Kate could send him on one Robert Matteson and what had happened. NOW Kate shuffled her feet across to the bed and fell on it. After looking to see that the little light on the baby monitor was on, Kate grabbed a pillow and curled up and tried to get some sleep.
Kate was blinking her eyes open slowly when it sounded like a woodpecker was in her home. It was a quick hammering sound followed by silence, only to hear it do it again. "Why me? What did I do that was so wrong?" Now I have to chase down some stupid bird that made its way into my home.
Wait! I'm in the middle of downtown Manhattan practically.
It's not a woodpecker, it's the front door. Kate walked over to the door and could see it vibrate as it was being hammered on. They trying to fix the door maybe? Just that they said not until tomorrow.
Kate swung the door open to find Rick in the middle flanked on each side by a uniformed officer.
"KATE!" Rick stepped inside and held up the book she had given him to his chest. "Do you have any more of these?" Kate noticed he was smiling wide and looked really happy for some reason.
"Sure." Kate had several in fact. Taking the next Nikki Heat book off the shelf, and shuffled her feet back over to Rick and handed it to him.
Rick traded books with her and then kissed her and turned for the door to leave, only to turn around and come back to wrap his arms around her and really kiss her this time.
Rick's hands roamed her back till they finally rested on her hips, while his tongue asked for entrance. After getting it one of his hands found its way to her ass and he promptly goosed her getting Kate to open her eyes wide. Except Rick just kept kissing her and Kate found it becoming more difficult to remain standing.
Kate grabbed a hold of Rick to help her keep standing and worked at kissing him back just as hard.
Rick broke from the kiss. "Thanks." And tapped the new book and went out the door, watching one of the uniforms close the door.
Kate stumbled over to one of the dining room chairs and sat down before her legs gave out. "WOW!" It reminded her of that kiss when Ryan and Espo had been taken. This one however had taken her mind from her.
When Kate could start to think straight again she looked at the book Rick had left behind. Heat Wave.
He was done already? "What time is it?" Kate talks to herself and twists to look at a clock. "He's done already?" Kate looks at the book, amazed. Castle was the only one she knew that could read that fast.
Martha is either in her room or gone. Alexis is in the hospital. She can't get her home fixed until tomorrow, including the bullet holes.
Kate decided to go upstairs to spend time with her son. Finding him asleep still, she carefully picked him up and sat down in the glider rocker with him.
It wasn't until later that Kate started to blink open her eyes. "Katherine?" Martha whispered softly at first, getting a little louder each attempt. "Katherine!"
"Martha?" Kate was still partly asleep.
"It's late dear." Martha tells her.
It got Kate to look at her watch. "11:10 pm" Kate couldn't believe it. Was she really that tired?
"Sorry Martha, I guess I was tired." Kate admits it to herself.
"I'm going to bed dear. The refrigerator has a few bottles left in it for tomorrow." Martha assumed with Alexis in the hospital Kate would need her to watch Alexander.
"I'll feed him and then pump before going to bed. Thanks Martha. Are you able to watch him tomorrow?" Kate hadn't actually asked her, so much had happened.
"I have nowhere else to go dear, I'll be here." Martha was going to help her.
Kate altered her top after Martha was gone and then pumped after putting Alexander down for the evening.
Kate was on her way down the stairs when someone started hammering on her door again. Pause and then start hammering again. It got Kate to smile guessing who it would be.
Opening the door she wasn't disappointed. Rick stepped in and held up the book Kate had given him. "Wait right there." Kate grins and heads for the bookcase and pulls down another book.
"Here." Kate trades books with him. "You've actually finished reading the last two?" Kate needed to hear it.
"It was easy." Rick shrugs his shoulders, getting Kate to giggle.
"Thanks Kate." And Rick turns to leave, only to turn back to her and wrap his arms around Kate and kiss her.
Kate was soon fisting his shirt to hang onto him so she could remain standing. "Rick, ….?"
"Thanks Kate." Rick removed his arms from around Kate and then gave her a quick kiss and went out the door, hurrying to get home and start reading the next book, pulling the door closed behind him.
Kate did the best she could to make it to the dining room chair again and sat down.
He keeps kissing me like that and I'm not going to last much longer.
Kate could feel her need to make love to him rising. It had been about a year since Castle made love to her in Chicago and she wanted him. She was ready, like really ready.
Great! Now how am I supposed to get any sleep tonight?
Kate dragged herself out of bed and went upstairs to check on her son. Kate had spent most of the night awake replaying her first day in Chicago over and over again. It only kept Kate awake, tossing and turning.
Kate hadn't heard her son on the baby monitor all night long. Stepping into the nursery. "Hi my handsome young man, how are you this morning?" Kate lifted him up and could see him smiling at her.
"How about we change your diaper and then feed you, what do you say to that?" Kate rubs her nose over his, getting him to reach out and try and grab her hair.
Kate put him back in his crib after she was done and went back downstairs to take a shower.
Kate was headed for the kitchen to figure out breakfast when there was a woodpecker at her front door again. "Again?"
He kisses me like that again and runs off to read his own book and I'm in trouble.
Kate opened the door to find a Rick still in the same clothes as yesterday, reminding her they needed to take him shopping. Kate still had all of Castle's clothes, but they weren't going to fit him. He was too tall and too thin, still.
Rick was standing there holding up his book in both hands grinning at her. "Rick, did you stay up all night reading?" Kate shook her head. "I'll get the next one." Kate left him standing there and went in search of the next Nikki Heat book.
Kate traded books with him. "I'm going into work this morning until lunch, and then I'm coming home to get Alexander and Martha and go to the hospital. Do you, ..." Kate was interrupted by Rick.
"Can I come?" Rick asked real fast. Looking very childlike excited about the prospect.
It got Kate to smile. "Sure, if you're still awake. We'll stop by and pick you up on the way."
"YES!" Rick pumped his arm and then stepped up to Kate and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again.
Like last time Kate was soon fisting his shirt so she could remain standing, only this time she moaned into the kiss. When Rick broke from the kiss he let go of Kate. "I'll be waiting." And Rick retreated through the door and closed it.
Kate was barely standing wanting Rick to come back so she could kiss him again and then drag him to her bedroom. And then the door opened again and Rick poked his head in. "Thanks!" Rick grinned and then re-closed the door.
"I'm in big, big trouble." Kate talks to herself and then runs her fingers over her lips. Kate couldn't take much more of this.
Kate had checked with Martha that she was up before she left for work, reminding Martha that someone would be here to replace the door followed by someone who would install the new lock, same as the old lock. Then still another person that was going to install an improvement to the security system.
"Call me if you have questions Martha. They'll bill me so you shouldn't have to pay for anything. As soon as all of that is done the uniforms will be leaving." Kate tells her hoping she got all that.
"We'll be fine Katherine, until the uniform officers leave, we're perfectly safe." Martha tries to take any worry away.
Kate had parked and made her way up to her desk. "Guys, anything new?" Kate turns on her computer.
"We got an ID on our two vics." Espo tells her who now had her undivided attention. "They're brothers, Robert and George Hammond. They're both bond traders. When they didn't show up for work for 2 days they started to worry and called their families.
Their families are coming in, in about an hour." Espo tells her.
"Good, maybe they can tell us where they were." Kate was suddenly happy.
"It gets better." Ryan offers up. "Both of their cars have GPS and we have their location." Ryan holds up his post-it note.
"Your two take the cars and I'll wait for the families. I'm here till lunch, and then I'm headed for the hospital." Kate informs them.
"How is our girl doing?" Espo really was concerned.
"She woke up yesterday and except for some pain, she's doing fine. … Where's Will?" Kate wanted to yell at him again.
"He's at the hospital under guard. …. He had a little accident." Espo tells her.
"ESPO?" Kate glares at him.
"Honest Castle, it was an accident." Espo defends himself.
"Yeah Castle, it was nasty and it looked REALLY painful." Ryan added.
"What am I going to do with you two?" Kate shakes her head. Though with her back to them she started grinning.