A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who continues to read this fic and who encourages me to keep going with all the likes/follows and reviews. When I started this story I knew the basic plot and what I wanted to happen, but I never imagined it would take me this many chapters to accomplish it. Writing this has been at times hard and frustrating, but rewarding whenever I post a new chapter. It's unleashed more creativity than I ever knew I had and now I've got several more story ideas bouncing around my head. So thanks to everyone here and everyone in this awesome fandom!
He frantically shrugged out of his jacket to cover her naked body while shouting that they needed an ambulance. Needed it now!
He cradled her head in his hands. Her eyes were closed, hair matted with blood. As he carefully explored her scalp with his fingers, he found a huge lump on her right side, just above her ear. It felt as big as a lime; judging by how she lay he figured she'd hit her head on the way down.
Pushing aside thoughts like bleeding on the brain, he continued his exploration of her injuries. The rest of her head seemed ok. The blood seemed to have come from the lump, which had a laceration just above it. Her right arm was twisted awkwardly beneath her; it was clearly broken below the elbow. Her left arm seemed fine and her upper chest looked unscathed except for lots of scratches. Her back had several bleeding wounds that appeared to be from chunks of tile; nothing was very large. More concerning was what appeared to be two bullet wounds; one near the left hip and the other in the left leg. Both were bleeding, though not the gushing of an artery. She would have died hours ago if they'd been arteries, exsanguinated on the floor of her bathroom prison.
He feels one of the others behind him, trying to peer into the bathroom. He recognizes the softer breathing and smaller presence of Karpowski and is irrationally thankful. Kate would hate it if she was mostly naked in front of LT. Not that it matters. Getting her help is all that matters.
"Here are our jackets. She's probably in shock; we need to get her warmer." He takes the jackets and covers her further.
"Looks like that crazy woman must have emptied several clips into this place." LT's voice rumbled from the other room.
"Luckily it looks like she just stood back there and shot the hell out of the door. Kate must have been able to avoid most of the shots when she hit the ground. Good thing this was a crazed fan and not a trained killer."
Rick half listened to their conversation, most of his attention still trained on Kate. The ambulance was taking far too long to get to her. He stroked her hair, her upper arms. He didn't want to move her in case there were injuries he couldn't see and might be worsened by moving her. Like God forbid a spinal injury.
After what seemed to be forever, he heard more voices and the sounds of something being drug through the chaos of the outer room.
"Sir, if you could please move so we can assess her." The voice is polite. He half turns from his crouched position in front of her and finds himself looking up at a man in a paramedic uniform. He looks like he's twelve, but does have an air of confidence. Seemed like he knew what he's doing. Castle stood and moved into a corner. He won't leave her alone, but he's not foolish enough to deny her medical care; care that she clearly needs.
The medics quickly started an IV and a bag of clear fluid began pouring into her. They placed her in a cervical collar and then on a backboard. The jackets were removed. He felt indignant for her vulnerability. Naked in front of strange men. But they were professionals. The jackets were quickly replaced with pre-warmed blankets that covered her head to toe after pressure bandages were first applied to her most obvious wounds and her broken arm was splinted. She's strapped to the gurney and they prepare to rush her to the ambulance and the waiting trauma bay at the closest trauma center.
"Sir, are you coming with us?"
He nods sharply. He won't let her out of his sight. Trails after them as Karpowski and LT clasp his arms; wish him well, her better. They have to stay for more investigators, CSU.
He sits by feeling useless on the ride to the ER; listens to the chatter over the radio as the medics let the trauma team know what to expect, what they've found. No one seems especially panicked, so he lets the bile that's been rising in his throat start to move downward once again. He wishes for the thousandth time since they've found her that she'd wake up, but at the very least he's so thankful she's alive. Hopes nothing will change this simple pleasure.
When they arrive at the ER, he follows her gurney closely, not wanting to be left behind. No one seems to object, and once again he finds himself in an ER praying that she'll be alright. Only now he is part of her life and the stakes are even higher than when she was shot.
He moves to one side of the room, watching as the trauma team quickly assesses her injuries. The surgeon barks out orders and the entire team works as one to rapidly determine her injuries and the priority of her care. It's impressive and he feels she's in good hands.
A nurse scribing the events spots him; she sidles up to him.
"Are you her husband?"
"Fiancé, actually."
"You're really not supposed to be here. I can have someone show you to the waiting room. We'll bring you back once she's stable."
He turns to face her fully, captures her attention. Briefly eyes her nametag that identifies her as Cheryl.
"Cheryl, I know you don't know me. That's my fiancée laying there. She was kidnapped just over a week ago and I've moved heaven and earth to find her. We finally did find her only to discover she'd been shot and left for dead. I know you have your regulations, but if there was ever a time to overlook one this is it. Please." His last word is broken, pleading. Tears have appeared involuntarily as he speaks, threatening to spill over and completely unmask him.
Cheryl regards him carefully, silently weighing the truth of his words. Finally she nods, indicates he can stay silently, but with a raised brow that seems to say that if he does anything idiotic, anything at all, he would be removed faster than he could blink.
Finding no more gunshot wounds than he had, the team sends Kate for imaging. A head CT is required due to her lack of consciousness and obvious closed head injury. She also had imaging of her chest, abdomen, arm and leg.
Once everything is done, she is taken back to the trauma bay. Castle had followed her, though wasn't allowed in the room where she'd had her radiologic studies done; he'd watched from a control room along with her nurse and a radiology tech as the CT scan spun around her.
One of the nurses brings a chair in for him to sit in. She gives him a sympathetic look and he assumes the first nurse, Cheryl, has let everyone else in on their tragic story, the one he'd told to be able to stay with her. It was absolutely true; ironically he didn't think he could have ever thought out a worse series of scenes from his and Jerry Tysons interactions. Yet it makes him a bit uncomfortable; knows Kate would hate that people are pitying them.
The trauma surgeon reenters the room and speaks to the nurse who seems to be in charge of Kate's care. His words are inaudible to Castle, but after a few exchanges, the surgeon turns and addresses Castle directly.
"I'm Doctor Chumpitaz. You're her fiancé I'm told?" Seeing Castle's nod, he continues. "Your fiancée has several areas of concern. She's had a closed head injury, though luckily there is just a small subdural hematoma, or small rim of blood beneath her skull. It's not enough that it needs to be drained. She's also had a nasty concussion, which is why she's not awake. We'll need to watch her neurologic status closely in the next few days but I don't think there will be any long term issues. We'll have the neurosurgeons take a look at her of course, but it will just be a matter of having them keep an eye on her. The more pressing issue is the gunshot wounds she has to her pelvis and leg. She was very fortunate that no major vessels were hit, but we still need to take her to surgery for removal. She has a broken femur which will need to be pinned by orthopedics. The wound in her hip has led to a pelvic fracture, but it is stable so nothing has to be done with that other than the bullet removal. We'll take her to surgery today and get everything cleaned up, including removal of the shrapnel and stitching up any lacerations that need to be closed. Her arm is a clean break, so it just needs immobilization after it's reduced. Ortho will cast it. After that it's a matter of watching her neuro status and waiting for her to wake up. Ortho will want her ambulatory, on her feet, as soon as possible. Do you have any questions?"
Rick shook his head no. He'd felt so much relief at being told she was going to wake up and be ok that he hadn't really paid much attention to the rest. Knew she needed surgery, but it seemed fairly routine. For the first time since she'd disappeared from his life he finally started to feel the weight lifting from his shoulders a bit. Could breathe more freely.
After signing some papers for the surgeon, Castle was left alone with her in the room; well, alone except for the nurse who scurried back and forth from the room doing multiple tasks that Rick didn't even try to follow.
He'd scooted the chair next to the gurney that she remained on. The backboard was gone, but she still had the cervical collar on. She had more IVs and had blood running in one; she'd lost enough that a transfusion was necessary. He reached under the blankets and grabbed her hand closest to him. He knew he needed to call everyone; wasn't sure that anyone even knew she'd been found with all the attention that the shooting at the precinct was commanding. He feels a twinge of guilt for only just now remembering that other members of his family have been injured. His priority has been Kate and Kate alone. Besides, the others had everyone thinking about them. Kate was not there so wasn't a priority. He'd had to focus on her as no one else could or would. But he needs to call them, let them know she's here and she's going to be ok. Knows that his mother, his daughter and her father are certainly still worried sick even if no one else seems to be.
Yet he needed this moment alone with her. Even though she wasn't awake, wasn't completely back with him, he just needed to hold her hand and process that they were together, that everything was going to be ok. It was one of the most sacred moments of his life, sitting there holding her hand. His body curled over the edge of the bed, around the point where their flesh lay entwined. His eyes were closed as he held her cradled in between his hands. He concentrated on the feel of her hand, the sound of her breathing and the forces of the universe that had kept them together, hadn't taken her from him. He vowed to be thankful of their time, their relationship every day.
An unknown amount of time later he was being tapped on the shoulder by the nurse. It was time for them to take her to surgery. He kissed her tenderly on the hand then on her forehead, smoothing the matted hair away. After she was wheeled away, he was shown to the surgical waiting room and he finally started making the calls that he needed to make.