Kidnapped Ch.26

'… We need you to make a decision now…'

The doctor's voice echoed through his mind, and he shook his head quickly, hoping to get rid of that particular memory. It had been one of the worst times of his life, and he never, ever wanted to go through that again.

'Rick, please tell me what happened?' Kate asked pleadingly, her hazel eyes glazing straight into his. She was a strong woman, and always wanted to be in control of her own life. Not knowing something crucial to herself frustrated her greatly, and Castle knew that she would never let this go.

'Kate, it wasn't anything important,' Castle tried to persuade her desperately, trying to steer her away from the topic, but Kate was undeterred.

'Richard Castle, I've known you for more than six years. I know you inside out, and that expression tells me that it was something important,' Kate told him, sternly, but then her voice softened. 'You know you can tell me anything, right?'

'I know,' Castle answered. He looked around the room in an attempt to avoid Kate's beseeching eyes, suddenly craving the image of his son lying peacefully in his bassinet, but he was nowhere in sight. 'Where's Oliver?'

'Rick, you've been asleep for more than four hours. The nurses took him back to the nursery, and Alexis had gone home already,' Kate answered softly. 'Rick, please, tell me what happened. Let me help you.'

'You can't help,' Rick told her, his voice thick with unspoken emotions, as he pulled her close and inhaled her unique cherry scent under the odor of hospital disinfectant. He could feel his heartbeat slowing down and his mind clearing.

'When I told you everything that happened… during the kidnapping, it helped me, Rick. You were my rock and you kept me safe. Let me help you now,' Kate implored, and Rick could feel his shirt getting damp as tears started rolling out of the corners of her eyes.

'The doctors… they told me to choose between your life and our baby's life.'

'Your wife has had chest surgery before, hadn't she?' the doctor asked, and he nodded. It was a sensitive topic between them, and they always tried to avoid talking about her shooting, lest it made her uncomfortable.

'That was a very long time ago, and she made a full recovery,' Castle told her, frowning. 'Why do you ask?'

'Generally speaking, her surgery should not have much of an effect on her, but unfortunately, her heart is weak –' the doctor started, but Castle cut her off.

'She's just as fit as she was before surgery. She runs all the time, and her heart is fine,' Castle protested.

'I'm aware of that, Mr. Castle. However, she is pregnant. Her heart has to work harder than before in order to compensate for the foetus at the moment. Add on the injury to her head…' The doctor tightened her lips, and shook her head. 'Her heart is under a tremendous amount of stress, and may give out at any given moment,' the doctor told him awkwardly. Castle closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get his bearings.

'What are you telling me here?' Castle asked slowly, and the doctor hesitated before answering.

'I know that this sounds inhumane, Mr. Castle, but I'm asking you to choose between your wife and your child. In order to save your wife, we will have to deliver the child now, through a C-section,' the doctor told him.

'Are you saying my child will die if you do the C-section?' Caste's pitch rose with his anxiety, and the doctor shook her head.

'I'm not saying that, Mr. Castle, but you have to be prepared for that possibility. She is only 29 weeks old, and the baby is rather premature. It greatly depends on the foetus. Generally, the survival rate of premature babies at 29 weeks is relatively high, but the ultrasound shows that your baby is a little smaller than usual,' the doctor said gently.

'I can't choose between them,' Castle whispered. 'I need them both.'

'I know it's hard, but we need you to make your decision now. Your wife's heart is dangerously weak right now, and if we leave this too long, both of them can die,' the doctor answered, looking sympathetic to his dilemma.

Glancing towards the curtained room where Kate was, he finally made up his mind.

'Save my wife. Deliver the baby, doctor, but please, do your best to keep them both alive and well,' Castle muttered. He felt so numb and detached, as if someone had taken over his body and made the decision for him.

'We'll do our best,' she told him, placing a hand gently on his arm before hurrying away, already retying her mask.

She sat next to the plastic box which Oliver was in. Since he could latch onto Kate, the feeding tube was removed, so there were no longer any tubes protruding out of his nose. Despite being small for his age, he could breathe well on his own.

Her index finger gently traced along the amazingly soft skin of her little brother, and the corner of her lips twitched up into a smile automatically. Oliver's tiny fists clutched at hers as he wriggled slightly, and opened his eyes. No matter how many times she had seen it, she doubt that she would ever be tired of those beautiful eyes.

He had the most gorgeous hazel eyes that simply radiated comfort. Large and almond shaped, he had the exact same eyes as Kate Beckett. Alexis could already see him rolling his eyes in the 'Beckett manner', as she had nicknamed it.

He stared at Alexis for a while, his eyes never wavering and his tiny mouth pulled up to form a tiny smile. Alexis knew that he could not see her properly yet, but she could not help but feel proud that she now had her own special smile from her little brother.

'Hello, Ollie,' Alexis whispered softly to him, a glowing warmth in her chest. She picked up the fuzzy teddy bear at the side of the box, and touched it to his nose. He scrunched his nose up, causing Alexis to chuckle.

Placing the bear back down, she sat down back next to the plastic box as Oliver let out a large yawn. It was getting late, and her grandmother would be getting worried. Blowing him a small kiss, she left the room as she headed to bid goodbye to her parents.

'Dad? Kate?' Alexis called as she walked into the room. She stopped abruptly at the doorway. There, sitting on the bed, was Kate weeping silently, while her father was nowhere to be seen.

A/N: Oh boy, two chapters with no cliffhangers? What is going on with me? I'll admit it, I'm exhausted. Medication, you gotta love them. I got over the asthma, and I was like yay, no more medication, and BOOM! I somehow managed to hurt my knee without knowing, and since I have to walk around all day long, painkillers are now a large part of my day…

However, enough of that. Most importantly, as usual, PLEASE REVIEW! Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please.

This chapter is dedicated to Bianca tabbycat for being the most awesome beta ever.

Zoe tabbycat