Wow can you believe another chapter this soon? Neither can I.
I want to thank LadyAilith for her work on this chapter. I am blessed to say I nor my family has ever had a stay in the hospital, other than my wife and child birth, so I had no idea what terminology to use in this chapter. My editor was amazing, she fixed my errors and misconceptions quickly. She is the best.
As always I own nothing.
Chapter 25
"Rick, you're awake! Oh, thank god, I've been so worried!" Tears streamed down Kate's face as she spoke.
The heart monitor beeped a little faster as Castle reached up and caressed the back of her head, taking time to relish the fact that he could run his fingers through her hair. "I'm fine, just a little sore."
Kate looked up to see Alexis patiently waiting her turn to comfort her dad. "Oh, Alexis, I'm so sorry! Here, take my place."
When Kate had relinquished her seat on the bed and began to move, Alexis handed her the card that Dr. Davidson left and smiled. "Don't know if you need a consult from the good doctor," she chuffed as she took a seat next to her dad.
Kate took the card and tore it in half, then in half again, continuing until there was nothing but confetti left. "Whoa, whoa! You may not need a consult but others in this room might," Yana remarked.
"Shut up, Yana. You're married," Kate smirked.
"Yeah, but he's taller," came Yana's quick response.
"Who's taller?" Mike Gray inquired as he came into the room. "And who is he taller than?"
Never missing a beat, Yana replied, "Just the doctor who was hitting on Kate. And the second part of the answer is YOU!"
"You're the one who was wanting his card," Kate replied with a wink.
"He may be taller but I can kill him a hundred different ways," came the retort from Mike.
"Now girls, you truly do sound like sisters. But you should know not to get these men too riled up. Their little egos can't handle it," Martha said conciliatorally.
Castle finally joined the conversation. "Hey, who says I have a little ego? Wait, that didn't come out the way I wanted it to."
"Ew, Dad!"
"I don't know what you guys are going on about but I heard you when I got off the elevator. And did you see that Dr. Davidson? Whew!" Lanie declared as she walked into the room. They didn't need to know that she ran into him getting off the elevator and it didn't take a rocket scientist to guess who they were talking about.
Getting annoyed, Kate tried to shut down her friend. "Lanie, not you too!"
"No, not me too. Rumor has it that he likes the ladies a little older." Lanie shot a look at Martha.
"Well, give me that card. I'll definitely take him out for a spin," Martha said as she fluffed her hair.
"Eww. Really, Grams!"
"Mother, I don't think I want a new stepfather."
"Oh, do be quiet, Richard. Who said anything about a stepfather? I just mentioned a test drive," Martha replied as the rest of the women looked on, scandalized.
"I think it's time for that sedative now," Rick said, trying to stifle a groan as he attempted to shift position. "Maybe I can dream of my two best girls and get the thought of Mother's conquest out of my mind."
A couple heartbeats later, Nurse Wilson bustled into the room with a couple of syringes, one that could only be the sedative of which Rick had just spoken. "It sounds like you are looking forward to this." She held up a syringe, waving it slightly. "Just give me a few minutes to check your bandages and we'll get you your nighty-night meds." She turned to the occupants of the room. "Why don't you let us have a little privacy. I'm sure my patient wouldn't want you to see his injuries."
'God bless Martha,' Kate thought as the aging diva grabbed Alexis, who obviously wanted to stay with her dad. "Come, Alexis. Let's get lunch; Kate will be here with him. If anything happens she will call us right away." Martha raised an eyebrow with a pointed look at Kate. "Right, my dear?"
"Of course I'll call if anything changes or the doctor gives us a new prognosis, Martha. Yana, you're going with them." It was more of a question than statement. It worried her that Demming's sister was still at large.
"Certainly. Mike and I will be with them all day. Can we bring you something from the loft? Change of clothes or anything?"
Before Kate could answer, Lanie jumped in. "How about I go to lunch with you all then I'll run by the loft with you to get her things. She'll say she doesn't need anything, but she'll need to freshen up before too long."
"Thanks Lanie, I love you, too," Kate said with a laugh.
The nurse flitted around checking Castle's chart, his heart, blood pressure, and the like. When it was time to change the dressings on Rick's back the nurse signaled for another nurse to help but Kate offered to help. She barely wanted to move out of the way for the nurse to help him; she sure didn't want more people in the room obstructing her view of Rick.
'When did I become this woman?' She never would have described herself as clingy, let alone have someone else think that of her. But there was no way if someone watching from outside the door would call her anything but clingy.
The heart monitor's annoying beep increased rapidly as the bandages came off. A gasp escaped from Kate. The holes in his back - there was nothing else to call them - caused by the goon with blow torch and the pliers, were covered with pus. The drainage from the burns had thoroughly soaked the bandages and the pull pad on which Rick had been resting.
The nurse packed the wounds with an antibiotic ointment and redressed them. She gently pulled out the soiled pad and replaced it. Then they carefully lowered Castle back into the prone position that he would be occupying the next few days.
Nurse Wilson quickly checked his oxygen cannula, administered the necessary antibiotic, and began to inject the sedative into his PIC line as well. "Now it will take just a few minutes for this to kick in. I'll check back in to make sure you're resting comfortably. I hope I didn't hurt you too much, Mr. Castle."
"Thank you, Nurse Wilson, he'll be fine," Kate cordially replied.
"Yes, thank you, Nurse Ratchet," Castle muttered.
"Rick!" exclaimed Kate.
"Oh, don't worry about him," the nurse said cheerily, closing the door as she left.
"I'm sorry, I'm a terrible patient. Always have been," he confessed as he turned his gaze to Kate.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, nervousness overtook her. She wasn't sure how he would take her revelation about The Old Haunt. "I bought you a bar!" she blurted.
Confusion flashed across his face. 'A bar, she bought me a bar? How?' "I, ah, ok…ay. That's nice, unexpected but nice. May I ask why?"
"Because you wanted it?" Bewildered, she stared into his eyes. "Didn't you?"
"Well, I have always dreamed of being a barkeep."
"Um, your lawyers said you wanted to buy it. So I signed the papers," she clarified.
'The Old Haunt! Now it made sense!' It was true that he had wanted The Haunt since he wrote his first book. The inspiration that he had gathered from that establishment was only second to the presence of his muse. He had only stopped writing there when the playboy author came into being. He couldn't get a moment's peace in the booth. Fans would interrupt at the most inopportune moments. Always when the words were flowing so he decided to work in his home office.
"You bought me The Haunt?"
"I actually bought you the building which houses the bar but that included The Haunt itself," Kate replied while taking particular interest in a thread on her jeans.
"You bought US a building and a bar?" he questioned drowsily, seemingly unable to keep his eyes open.
Seeing he was worn out and beginning to drift off to sleep she decided to end their conversation for now. "I bought you a bar. Now go to sleep."
"Oh, Katydid, whass mine's yours. ...Should know that by now. Wouldn' let juss anyone control businesses 'cept the love of my life," he slurred. And with that he slipped off to sleep.
'Love of my life? Did he just say that? I know that we've spoken in metaphors about apple carts and such, but never have we used such direct terms.' She sat immersed in her musings, trying to get a grasp on what Castle had just revealed. She had never truly given herself to anyone. Never fully accepted anyone completely. But now she was completely giving and accepting and she had to admit it felt wonderful.
Xx
The weather had taken a turn for the worse. A late summer storm had arisen, creating a deluge that had snarled the movements of the city of eight million. People were scurrying for cover from the downpour, trying their best to stay dry.
Monica surmised it was a lost cause as she looked out the window of the little Indian restaurant across the street from St. Francis Hospital that housed her brother and that writer. How could Tom have been so stupid? He was sent to take care of Beckett and she walked out of that warehouse unharmed. The writer, on the other hand, looked as if he had gone through hell and back.
She was startled out of her musings when the chair across from her screeched across the linoleum floor. She turned her gaze from the window, where she had been staring at nothing and everything all at once, to the large African American man who took residence in the offending chair.
"Well?" was all the beauty had to say, but it was enough for Simmons to know exactly what she wanted to know.
"Your brother's in bad shape. From what my guy had to say, it looks like he was beaten within an inch of his life. He had a nurse take a look at Beckett's hand when she administered the writer's meds. Her hands look unscathed, so she must have used a weapon. My guess would be the butt of a pistol." He stopped with his analysis when the waitress appeared to take his order.
Moments later, order in hand, the waitress moved onto another table. "How could he have been so stupid? He was supposed to get the information and kill her. But no, my brother apparently focused on the writer allowing her to get the drop on them," Monica spat, venom seething with every word.
"If I had to venture a guess, I'd say your brother really is sweet on Detective Beckett. I have the feeling that he was taking pleasure in the abuse that Mr. Castle was enduring. What pisses me off the most is that my guys lost focus also. They let that wisp of a woman take them out. One's dead and the other will never walk again."
Monica turned again to stare out of the window lost in the words that Vulcan had said. She had seen Kate Beckett, and although she cut an impressive figure, she could hardly believe that the detective could take out the three men that had been in the room with her. One on one with Tom maybe, but the two hulking monsters that Vulcan had sent could more than hold their own against anyone.
She spoke to herself in just above a whisper. "Is there any chance that the writer could have done this?" Warming to the idea, she turned to Vulcan and spoke louder. "Any chance Mr. Castle did this? Any chance he's the one who took them out? With his size it would make more sense."
"Nope, not a chance in hell!" The response from Vulcan was quick and absolute; he was truly steadfast in his belief that Castle could not have done this.
"You seem pretty certain; care to explain?" Monica asked as she reached for her drink.
"When they brought me in for interrogation when everything went down with Jack, Mr. Castle had his pansy-ass in there with her. I tried to get under his skin, get him to take a punch so I could walk on a technicality. He was scared to death, so much so I thought me might soil his three hundred dollar slacks." Vulcan laughed. "I couldn't get him to do a damn thing. But her on the other hand... When I pushed her, she had me up and through a two-way mirror faster than you could imagine. No, he doesn't have the balls but she sure as hell does."
"Balls or not, I want him dead just as much as I want her dead. And I have a couple of ideas how we can get it done…."
Xx
Thoughts on this chapter?