The fall started off graceful. The air blowing through her hair. Beckett grabbed ahold of the killer falling along her side. Their eyes met and he seemed to be the only one at peace. The end was coming for them both. Fuck that! She pulled him close and they began a partial tumble leaving him beneath her. She head butted him and punched him and wanted to set him on fire with her rage and watch him flail in agony. Then his head hit the wall, scraping a section of his head off and the tumble flipped them again. She caught the window of Castle's loft. She began growling. She was going to die and it was all because of this stupid selfish, murdering psychopath beneath her. The ground closer now. A dumpster directly beneath them gave her a speck of hope. Just maybe...

Valdez reached the edge and caught the end of the fall. Beckett on top and her mother's killer and slamming into the plastic lid of the dumpster. The lid provided no cushion for Dryon but maybe the impact was absorbed just enough to cushion it for Kate. The thunderous pop of trash bags having the air explode out of them might have provided extra cushion again. Then she was on top of massive man that, in comparison, could have been large enough to protect her from direct impact yet again. "Detective!" Her eyes were glued on the Detective's body. What she could see of her anyway. A leg and an arm where the only unsubmerged part in the muck. Valdez ran down the steps and passing the author's room shouted, "They fell off the roof!"

When she reached the bottom step she spotted Ryan with a dozen cops and at least two more ambulances pulling up. Waiving her arms and running towards the corner she couldn't get the words out. She did must have said something because three paramedics immediately followed her around the corner. She got to the dumpster and climbed in without a second thought. Throwing opened bags of trash and food and rotting pieces of New York to the side and in the alleyway she finally got to Beckett and she felt for a pulse. Please. Let there be a pulse.

Kate Beckett wasn't dead. She couldn't be. She had just started to live for herself. Before it was always something else she had to sacrifice herself for. She couldn't get in a relationship because of her work. She couldn't pig out and eat like she wanted because she had to stay in shape. For her work. She had to do all of these things for her work. So she could make her mother proud. So when she realized that she might be dead she felt robbed. Seeing her mother sitting on a white loveseat in a white room wearing all white was a clue.

"Mom?"

Johanna Beckett stood up and hugged her. "Don't worry Katie-bear. You are not dead. Although when you wake up in the hospital and try and move your body you might wish you were."

"What happened?"

Her mother smiled wide. "You didn't need to do all this for me Kate. The revenge thing doesn't do anyone any good."

"Please tell me what has happened."

"Honey you fell 8 stories into a dumpster and used about 300 pounds of human being and trash to help break your fall. You have a concussion. Broken collar bone, wrist and femur and while everything else will heal fine you will feel an ache in your shoulder whenever a cold front comes through."

Kate Beckett was stunned. She was speaking to her mother. Wasn't she? Was she-

"No you're not hallucinating and this is not a weird seizure or false memory brought to conscious by trauma. It is me. I was given one more chance with you to ask you something."

Kate could here a beeping sound of a heart monitor in the distance.

"I love you mom and I miss you."

"And I love you but I'm running out of time so please listen."

The monitor was beeping louder and she could hear Castle's voice uttering her name. Kaattteee. "Don't go mom."

Johanna Beckett grabbed Kate's shoulders. "Listen to me. I could not be more proud of you now. Please when you get back remember to name the baby after you're father."

Kate was stunned. "I'm pregnant?"

Her mother hugged her "Not yet." She locked eyes with her mother one last time.

Kate's eyes opened and tears trailed down her face. Castle was holding her non broken hand with his left hand. His arm in a sling and himself dragging his own IV.

"Oh my god Kate! You're awake!" He wanted to kiss her but was afraid he could do more harm so he just smiled. Then he saw a rare sight. Kate Beckett, his best friend, partner, soulmate and by far the toughest most stubborn person he ever met began crying. "Are you hurting? What's wrong Kate?" She couldn't speak. The pain was there yes and she indicated it to Castle who called for a nurse but she wasn't crying from the physical pain. Her mom had left her again. She did get to say she missed her mom and maybe that was her way of saying goodbye. Goodbye wouldn't have helped though. It wasn't the final words she wanted. It was that last hug. When she left it was like she had died all over again but this time it was different. Kate's body was cracked and broken but the tears coming out weren't from any wounds. It was from knowing her mother approved of her and that she could go on now. The tears were from missing her mom, true, but now she knew she was doing the right thing for herself.

The nurse injected a medicine into Kate's I.V and a medicated haze began to flow over her. Kate's words finally came out. "Rick?"

"Yes?"

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"Rick?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Did you propose to me earlier?"

"Don't worry about that now."

"Did I say yes?"

Castle didn't want to be cruel but if she was going to say yes to him he sure as hell didn't want it to be was passed out or screaming from the red death or while she was ubermedicated.

"We can talk about that later okay?"

"Richard?"

"Yeah Kate?"

"What'd she give me?"

"Demerol I think."

She paused. She was familiar with the narcotic and how addictive it could be so she had to mind it but at the same time her body welcomed the chance to heal. "Richard?"

"Right here, Kate."

"You are, aren't you."

"Always."

She smiled and faded back to sleep.

One more chapter to go folks. Thank you for reading. Oh and I've been on demerol one time at a hospital and I got to say it was an awesome experience. The conversation is far more comprehensive in this story but just so you know the one time I got it I was telling the doctor that we had to go cruising for chicks sometime. Just saying.