25. Rise!Hospital Hugs (for Morgen)
"Hey, Castle."
She was smiling at him. Oh, God, she was smiling at all.
He barely even noticed Josh excusing himself. All he could see was her.
She was so pale, her hair was in wild disarray, and her huge, dark eyes were too big for her face.
He had never seen her look so beautiful.
He waited until Josh was gone before he approached.
She made some comment about how awful she must look. He couldn't help but negate that.
"I just never thought I'd see you again."
His eyes swept over her again, and in spite of her pale face, a light blush stained her cheeks.
He wanted to hug her. Just to reassure himself that she was safe.
He suddenly became aware of the huge bouquet in his hands.
"Can I just...?" He let his voice trail off, placing the flowers down with the rest, and perching on the edge of her bed awkwardly.
Her breathing became more shallow, and he wasn't sure if he was helping or hindering, especially when she gasped "Castle, what are you doing...?" but he just really needed to...
He reached for her gently, carefully sliding his arms around her, cradling her protectively.
After a moment, she melted into him, weak, tiny hands fisting into his shirt.
He was hugging her. She was alive.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I just – need this. You're alive, Kate. You're going to be okay."
Under the smell of the hospital, she still smelled like Kate. He filled his lungs with her, not realizing there were tears in his eyes until they were running down his cheeks.
With something between a gasp and a sob, Kate began crying into his shoulder, great, heaving sobs such as he had never seen before. Every intake of air seemed to hurt her – given the fact that she'd just survived a bullet, this wasn't surprising – and he did his best to hold her close and reassure her without jostling her.
"I'm sorry," she finally hiccuped as she gained control of her emotions.
"It's okay," he replied with a smile, releasing her just enough to help her dry her tears. She half-sobbed a laugh, self conscious once more. He grinned in response, overjoyed at seeing her so... alive. "I'm here, Kate. Whatever you need, I'm here. Even if that means you need me to back off."
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and she leaned into it.
"Castle, I... there's Josh, and... I know you hope... after you said..." she stuttered. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, effectively silencing her.
"Whatever you need, Kate," he said.
She closed her eyes.
"What if that's you?" she asked, barely even a whisper.
"You've already got me, Kate," he replied.
Thoughts?