Chapter 20: Kate

I don't really have a song that goes with this.

"Was Kate pregnant?" I asked, cutting her off.

The amount of desperation in my voice was clear.

I wanted to know and I couldn't handle the pain of not knowing anymore.

There was a silence of about ten seconds but to me, it seemed like ten years.

"...Yes." She whispered.

I immediately dropped my phone.

R POV

I opened my eyes slightly allowing them to adjust to the beam of light splashing over my face.

My head pounded in agony.

I brought my arm up from my side to allow my hand to sweep my bangs off of my forehead.

"Oh, I see you're awake, Mr.," The man in a white coat (Most likely a doctor) looked down at his clipboard, "Castle?" The thick Italian accent was clearly audible through his voice.

"Uh," I started, "What am I doing here?" I asked; placing my hand on my thumping head - It was getting worse.

"A witness – the young woman who brought you in – said that she saw you walking down the stairs from your hotel and then collapsing. She was pretty concerned; she brought you in because she wanted to make sure you were going to be okay." He explained while handing me a pill for my headache.

"Oh." Is all I could say to that explanation.

"You should probably get some rest, though." He stated.

"I'm fine. Can I just get my stuff and leave?" I asked quickly.

I really didn't want to be stuck in this hospital.

"Well, it's your choice. So, go ahead." He walked back out of the room.

I gathered my things quickly before making my way out of the bright room.

Then, I remembered exactly why I must've fainted.

Kate was pregnant with my baby before she died in that plane crash.

I ran my hands through my dark brown hair, noticing how badly I needed to cut my hair.

"Mr. Castle?" I heard a feminine voice call after me.

I continued walking.

I didn't want one of the doctors changing their mind and making me stay at this hospital.

I heard her heels clacking as she jogged to my side.

I continued to look straight ahead.

"Can I help you? Do you want an autograph or something?" I asked and placed my hand out in front of her waiting for the pen and my latest book to be placed in my hand.

"No," She walked in front of me, making me stop in my tracks, "I wanted to make sure that you were okay. I brought you in; I was concerned with your health."

I continued to be silent.

How could this even be possible?

"So, are you okay?" She asked with a quizzical expression; most likely because I was so silent you could hear the other patients' televisions down the hallway.

"Kate?" I blinked my eyes hard; trying to make sure I wasn't just in a dream.

"That's my name, yes. That still doesn't answer my question." She was becoming more and more confused as seconds passed us by.

"Kate!" I cried and embraced her into an almost bone crushing hug.

"Mr. Castle, what are you doing? Are you alright?" She repeated.

I pulled away with tears in my eyes, "Why didn't you come back to New York? Why didn't you tell us you were alive? Your father misses you! The Precinct misses you! I missed you!" I almost sobbed.

"Mr. Castle, I have no idea what you're talking about." She explained and walked away from me scared.

"Katherine Beckett! Come back!" I shouted after her.

I can't lose her again.

I snapped out of my thoughts and tried running down the hallway after her.

She turned another corner.

I turned with her and saw that she was gone.

K POV

I leaned against the door frame and watched him walk in a circle before sitting in the chair placed against the wall.

What was he talking about?

I waited for him to walk away before walking out of the room that smelled of cigarettes and shit.

I held my hand up to my nose and made my way through the waiting room.

R POV

Two days went by since the last time I saw Kate at the hospital.

How was all of this possible? She died in that crash….. Or at least I thought.

I looked through the ridiculous amount of newspapers and magazines that dealt with the plane crash.

I opened up my laptop.

I had to figure out why she said she didn't know what I was talking about.

I looked through websites before I finally landed on one.

I began to read:

Woman Survives Plane Crash!

I continued skimming through before figuring it out. The article talked about how Kate was one of seven people who survived the plane crash. However, she was the one of the two to survive with minor injuries. While a majority of the others had massive brain damage while she had amnesia. The doctors said it would wear off within a year or so, but the only way she'd get it back is with someone reminding her of it. As far as everyone knew, she didn't have family, friends, etc. Since the story wasn't too big and had nothing to do with terrorisms, they didn't leak this information out to the U.S.

I leaned back against my chair and placed my hands behind my head, "Amnesia." I repeated out loud.

I didn't call anyone about this situation.

I wanted to figure this out on my own before I tried to get her to go back to New York to see her father or her friends.

I walked across the graveled road, searching for her.

I sat down on a bench and stared up at the plane that was passing above me.

My flight was in a good five hours and I still couldn't find her.

I just needed to prove that I was the love of her life, regardless of the fact that she didn't remember me and I only had a couple of hours to do so.

This is hopeless, I said to myself.

"How was it in Italy, Dad?" She kissed my cheek as I walked into the loft.

"Great. I got somewhat closure." I replied, embracing her in a hug.

I started walking through the kitchen and saw that my phone was buzzing.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Castle! What happened last time I called?" Lanie asked.

"Sorry, I fainted and had to be taken to the hospital." I explained.

"If you were by yourself, who took you?"

I had to think about the response to give her.

I couldn't lie to someone who could end up helping me.

Especially Kate's best friend.

"Kate." I whispered, making sure Alexis - who was only several feet away - couldn't hear me.

"Kate?!" She shouted into the phone.

"Shh. Yes. She's alive, Lanie. She has amnesia. I'll send you the link right now." I moved the phone away from my ear and sent her the link of the website dealing with Kate's story.

Lanie quickly read silently before getting back on the phone, "Wait. If they didn't leak this information to the U.S, how did Javier know about Kate's plane crashing?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, "I... I didn't think too much about that."

I sped up to the door and pounded my fist against the door.

He opened the door slowly and placed the toothbrush in his mouth.

"Hey, Castle!" He smiled and opened the door to let me in.

I pushed him against the wall, "You knew about her being alive and you kept it from everyone including me?!" I snarled.

"Woah, woah, woah," He put his palms up, "I don't know what you're talking about!" He confessed.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. I read the article! The article didn't get out to the U.S because it wasn't that big of a deal to come out to us. She's alive and you've kept it a secret?!" I shouted.

"Rick, I promise, I didn't know anything about that. I just heard one of my friends say that someone else told him about a plane crash. The guy who told him was related to someone who survived. I swear, I didn't even know she was alive. The guy said that the plane crashed and only a couple survived, bro." His toothbrush fell onto the cold tile as he explained.

I let go of his shirt, smoothed it out and took a couple steps back, "I'm sorry about that, Espo. She's alive, though. I saw her when I was in Italy." I whispered, putting my hands in my slack pockets.

"Oh," He picked up his toothbrush and walked to the sink to wash it off, "I didn't know. We're bros, I would've told you all if she was alive, bro. Y'know me." He shook his head.

"Yeah, I don't know why I ever doubted you." I frowned and pinched the bridge of my nose, "I don't know what to do. She didn't remember me."

A year later...

"Lily, where are you going?" I laughed as I followed her into the park.

"Rick, c'mon. Stop asking so many questions and just follow me!" She giggled.

Lily was the woman I met at the bar a year and a half ago. She turned out to be the only woman that understood how I was feeling about this Kate situation and didn't try anything on me - other than the first incounter with me.

"Rick?" She snapped her fingers in front of my eyes before grabbing my hand and walking with me to the swings.

I stopped in my tracks and remembered the swings and the moments with Kate.

The way we swung there the day she apologized and said she just needed space.

"Richard, you keep spacing out. Is there something wrong?" She looked into my eyes and then down at the swings, "Kate?"

I nodded.

She hugged me tightly, "Listen, everything's going to be okay. You'll see her soon enough. You'll find her." She whispered.

Lily knew about the sighting of Kate in Italy and she was very supportive of it.

I pulled away and gave a smile before sitting down on the swing beside her.

I ran down the steps of her apartment before making my way down the street.

"Richard!" someone called after me.

Deja vu.

I turned around and saw her once again, "Kate?" I almost choked on her name.

"Richard, I needed to come see you. I've been looking for you for a year." She explained while running up to my side.

"You remember me?" I almost cried.

She sighed and looked down at her shoes, "Sadly, no. However, I remember how you said you knew me. I was wondering how you knew me."

My face fell.

"You don't remember." I stated rather than asking - more to myself than her.

"I'm sorry, but no." She slightly frowned.

"You were the love of my life, my girlfriend, a homicide detective, and my best friend... To sum it up." I whispered while looking down.

Her eyebrows knit together as she processed what I had just told her.

I grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes, "Let me take you out? Please? Let me help you remember." I whispered.

She smiled slowly, "Okay."

She wrote down her hotel number on my hand and walked away.

Okay, I had to finish writing this today because it wasn't that great last weekend. Hopefully you all like it. It's Spring Break biattcchhessss \m/ Other than my ridiculous amount of AP homework, I'll be free to write more and more chapters. Which means there'll probably be one out tonight or tomorrow morning c: Review, please? c: It might be a really cheesy way of putting her back into the story but now we'll have to see if Castle can regain her trust and memory. :D