Sorry! I know, I need to update more. No idea how longs it's been so quick recap
Kate's been shot in the leg while at work. Rick, Alexis, and Jim came to visit her in the hospital.
"Yes dear" Jim smiled, walking over to press a kiss to the top of her head. "How do you feel?"
"Tired, and my leg's killing me. But it's to be expected. I'm so sorry Dad" she whispered, running her hand over Alexis' hair as the girl cuddled into her side.
"Nonsense Katie. You were doing your job, and you and Espo both got the bastard."
Her eyes widened and she bit her trembling bottom lip. "Oh god! Esposito. Dad, is Javi okay?"
Jim looked to Rick, who nodded.
"He's good. Jenny and Ryan are with him now, and so is Lanie. They did an x-ray earlier to check for internal damage, but once the results are in, he'll be released."
"Oh thank god" she breathed out, squeezing Alexis in a hug. She looked up at Rick's face and noticed he was upset. Kate turned to her father and smiled. "Hey Dad, is there any way that you and Alexis could run and get some coffee and food? I'm sure you're hungry, right kiddo?"
Alexis nodded and slid off the bed, walking toward Jim. "Can I go with you Mr. Beckett?"
"Of course you may" he smiled, picking her up into his arms. He pressed another kiss to Kate's forehead before leaving them alone in the room.
The second the door clicked, Kate opened her arms to him. "Come here writer boy" she smiled.
He walked over and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her hair, sucking in a deep breath. "I was so worried" he murmured, kissing the top of her head.
"Rick" she sighed, running her hands over his back as he hugged her. He didn't move, so she nudged him slightly with her shoulder and took his face into her hands.
He'd been crying into her hair.
"Oh honey" she sighed, brushing away his tears with her thumb, leaning up to press a chaste kiss to his lips. "Please don't cry."
"I thought I'd lost you. Ryan called and he was so worried. He said something about surgery and I didn't even catch the rest of it. God, Kate. I sent you to the damn park. If I hadn't told you that they were going to be there-"
"Rick, don't you dare blame this on yourself. If you hadn't told me, there would be another homicide on our hands, and more where that came from. You helped us catch a serial killer." Kate leaned up and kissed him again, this time a little more forceful, before pulling away abruptly before he could deepen the kiss.
"But Kate, I sent you there, and you got shot. I mean, look at you" he whispered, tracing his fingertips over her cheek. Her hair was pulled back, her face was exceptionally paler than normal, and she looked tired. "I did this to you…"
"Rick" she said quickly, shaking her head. "Don't… please" she pressed her forehead to his chest and inhaled his scent. "You didn't shoot me. The bastard that killed those people shot me. And Ryan shot him. And between Espo and I, we took down the other one. So don't you go blaming this on yourself. You weren't there honey. You didn't do this." She trailed her lips up and pressed a soft kiss to his jaw, nuzzling her cheek against him.
Rick sat down and pulled her gently into another hug, his lips finding her cheek. "How do you feel?"
"Honestly? Tired" she smiled, running her hand through his hair. She pulled back a little and her lips found his instantly. Kate held the kiss this time, her hand trapped in his hair, holding his lips against hers.
His lips began to move slowly against hers. The kiss stayed light for a while, as he was gentle with her. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt even more.
She slipped her tongue into his mouth and groaned against his lips, leaning her body more against his.
Rick pulled back from the kiss, breathing heavily, his hand tangled into her hair. "Kate."
"You don't need to blame yourself" she said quickly, stroking his cheek with her hand.
"I don't. I mean, I won't anymore."
"You promise?"
"I promise." He quickly kissed her again, running his fingertips over her cheek. "How's your leg?"
"Getting better" she smiled, cradling her hand against his cheek. "Thank you" she whispered, her lips lingering over his cheek.
"For?" he asked, sitting next to her on the bed.
"Being here, with me. If you had asked me two months ago if I thought I would be sitting next to Rick Castle, madly in lo… infatuation, I would have thought you were crazy. But now, sitting here with you, I am so grateful" she whispered, lying her head on his shoulder. "You know that I passed out? When we were in the park?"
His hand squeezed hers tightly, but she continued on.
"It hurt, so bad Rick. I could tell which parts of my leg were losing feeling. I didn't want to pass out. I wanted to wait, so I knew I was safe. I- when you get shot, everything in your life just kind of… flashes, in your eyes. That sounds so terribly cliché, but it's true. And I was lying there, and I saw my dad, and Lanie and the boys, and then my mom came up. And she told me she'd always be proud of me. And even though in my subconscious I knew that the bullet wasn't that bad, and I knew that I wasn't going to die. I still felt, at that moment, that I could just let everything go. Just close my eyes and everything would disappear, just as I always felt it should be."
Rick sucked in a breath and squeezed her hand tighter.
"But then, Alexis ran by. She was in the park, and she had that dragon with her, and her smile just lit up everything. And I started fighting, but I knew that it was so painful. I could only remember the pain I felt when I lost my mom, even though I was staring at your beautiful daughter, who kept yelling at me to get up because I needed to chase her. And she disappeared, and I screamed. Rick, I've never screamed like that in my life. She was just… gone. And everything was getting darker, but then I heard your voice. I opened my eyes back up, and you were there, hovering over me. You kept stroking my hair and whispering words in my ear, telling me how extraordinary you thought I was and all of that. It was perfect. And then you kissed me, but not that how you kissed me a second ago. You kissed me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered to you anymore. And, god, it felt good. Really, really good. And that's when I realized that I couldn't leave yet. I couldn't leave you and Lex and my Dad and Lanie and the boys. I'm only… Hell" she smiled. "I'm not telling you my age. But still, I realized that I couldn't put you all through that. I had to be here, and be strong. I need to find closure for my Mom, and I need to live." She pressed her lips soundly against his for a moment before pulling back once again. "I'm a one and done kind of girl Rick. And I need to live out the done part."
Tears were flowing freely down her face, and her breathing was rapid. She hadn't wanted to tell him everything, but with the situation, she needed to.
"This isn't the first time you've saved my life."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you've saved my life more than one… And I will always be thankful for that, because had you not saved me the first time, I would have never met you."
"Kate, honey, you're confusing me. What do you mean I've saved your life before?"
She let out a heavy sigh and ran her hand through his hair. "First, if we're spilling secrets, might as well be comfortable." She pushed him onto his back and smiled, snuggling into his chest, being mindful of her hurt leg.
"Let's see… How should I begin this?" She smiled a little and snuggled back into his chest.
"Well, it all began on January 9th, 1999. My Dad and I were waiting for my Mom to meet us at dinner, but she never showed. When we got home, Detective Raglan was waiting for us, to explain what had happened. I was heartbroken, to say the least. The thought of never having my Mom back hurt more than anything else. I wouldn't eat, sleep, talk to anyone, or go to school. I actually dropped out of Stanford when I was supposed to go back after winter break. I shut myself out from the world."
Kate sucked in a deep breath and brushed away the tears forming in her eyes.
"Honey, you don't have to."
"I do" she interrupted. "I need to tell you this. I have baggage Rick… More than you know right now. It's okay fair for you to know this before… Before we grow."
"Okay" he nodded.
"Anyhow, yeah. I shut myself out from everyone, and Dad fell to the bottle. I couldn't do it alone, but I was trying. About a month after her death, I started to clean up. Go through her things; see what needed to be done. That's when I came across your book."
"My book?"
She nodded, lying back against his chest. "My Mom had a copy of In Hail of Bullets in her desk at work. She'd always tried to get me to read it, but I never want to. I was stubborn, ya know? So I opened it up, and read the entire thing on the floor of her office. After that, I was hooked. I spent hours in the library, digging through to buy everything that you'd ever written. They helped me connect to her again. Even now, after reading your books numerous times, they still bring me that sense of connection to my Mom that I miss." She smiled and pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw.
"I had no idea…"
"Not many people do. Dad knows, and Lanie. But the boys have no clue. I don't open up a lot, and your books are one thing that I can really relate to. They made me want to be a cop. They made me want to find closure for my Mom."
"Kate" he whispers, pulling her against him, his lips latching onto hers.
She kissed him back softly before pulling away. The awkward twist was straining her leg.
"Thank you for telling me that" he whispered, shifting so that she was comfortable, kissing her again.
She opened her mouth to his and groaned into the kiss.
After a few minutes, he pulled back and hugged her close. "Thank you" he murmured into her hair.
"You don't want to run?" she asked, the fear of him leaving caught in her voice.
"Never" he whispered, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I'll never run from you."
How'd you like it? Reviews?