Alexis and Martha follow behind Chloe down the hallway. When they get to his room Chloe brings them through the door and made sure that they were comfortable. Knowing that she had other patients to look in on, she tells them that she needs to get back to work. But if they have any questions to come find her. Martha hesitantly walks towards his bed and Alexis falls in behind her. Once they're inside the room, the door closes they just stare at the sight in front of them. He's lost a lot of weight. He's stuck in a plastic tent so they can't even touch him.
"Gram he's sleeping. But he looks really, really bad."
"Alexis, he's been stranded on an island for the last three years. To me, he looks great."
And this is what she loved about her grandmother. She could find the silver lining in any situation. They watched as he slept and what seemed like ten minutes to them, an hour and a half went by. It was the door swinging open that had their attention.
"Hi. I'm here to tell you that I have Mr. Castle's lunch."
The woman, who was wearing a set of scrubs and a surgical mask, entered with a tray. She asked them to step outside while she placed his tray inside his tent.
This made them realize how serious his case of malaria actually was.
"Alexis now that we spent some time with him I think it's time that we talked with his doctors. Maybe we can get a time frame on when he can be released."
"Gram, from what I read malaria once it's treated is manageable. There is a possibility that it can come back but it's rare."
"Let's just see what the doctor has to say about it okay?"
Rick had woken up to the smell of food. Really good food. Nothing like what he had been eating on the island and he opened his eyes to see the orderly finish zipping up his tent.
"Mr. Castle, this is a slight modification for your previous diet. This meal has foods high in protein. Chicken, beef, and pork. The dietician has decided that some fiber would help you become adjusted to eating better food. So, she added a bounty of green veggies. And for the dessert, we have chocolate pudding. But as a word of warning eat your meal cautiously but if you start to feel nauseous here is a bedpan here to use." The orderly tells him as she points to the bedpan.
"Thank you. And I'll keep that in mind." Rick said as he lifted off the lid for the tray.
Xx
Martha and Alexis are sitting in the patient lounge talking to Dr. Nelson.
"Mrs. Rodgers, Rick will be in quarantine for the next forty-eight hours once we found out he had malaria he's been there since he arrived here. Once that time is here we'll recheck the swelling in his brain. If he passes the tests that I will run, then his quarantine will be over. His fever had come down since he has been admitted three days ago, and if his appetite returns, then I don't see him being here any longer than three more weeks. But it's his appetite that concerns me he's basically been on a seafood diet. Mostly fish and crab what we're going to do is slowly introduce more proteins and more vegetables and fruits into his diet. I just hope that the transition between the food he was eating and our food turns out to be accepted by his body. Three years is a long time."
"So Dr. Nelson there's a good chance that he could be released after the three weeks is complete?" Alexis asked hopefully.
"I don't see why not. If his caloric intake is up to where it should be and his bodily functions are back to normal then I don't see a reason he can't go. Now in his case of malaria, there will be a drug he will need to take in order to stop future problems from becoming an issue regarding the disease. It's nothing more than taking a medication orally once a day."
Xx
If it was one thing she could do she could have the paperwork almost finished for the case with the boys were currently working on she had proved this time and again over the last three years. It was four fifteen in the afternoon just shortly after his third year missing. She knew she only had about a half an hour left before she was able to leave. But since making the decision to stay at her desk instead of investigating as a lead detective, Gates had replaced her. At first, she was pissed but she had no right to be because, after the incident with Kevin years ago, she knew that she would never be the same as a lead detective again. To this day she's still rattled and feels guilty that he was shot.
Gates had befriended her shortly after her decision to ride a desk instead of participating and investigating in the field. They had to come closer than what they were when she had first arrived after Roy was killed.
"Kate, I hate the fact that I'm losing my best detectives to something like this. If there's anything I could ever do to help you outside of the precinct you know how to get in touch with me."
That had been the extent of their closeness. Until one day when they met for coffee and a couple of times after that when Kate asked about the testing procedure for Lieutenant. Gates was instrumental in giving her information on the upcoming exam and what her responsibilities would be if she passed it at the 12th. She decided to take the promotion test for Lieutenant. Since it was given over four months ago she was surprised when the notification came in the form of one Captain Gates telling her herself that she had passed. She was a new Lieutenant the next week if she wanted it.
Since that day the paperwork has been crazy, to say the least. Not only did she have to worry about the boys and the cases they were closing, but she had to take care of robbery and patrol reports from the field to Captain Gates as well. She didn't mind the pay bump either. She went from making $84,512 without overtime as a detective first to a salary of $107,882 without overtime for a lieutenant. And the money sure did come in handy.
Xx
They were heading back to his room again and when they walked through the door they noticed he was awake and had finished everything on his tray. Alexis moves slowly towards the tent so they can talk.
"Daddy. It's so good to finally see you after all this time."
"Alexis you don't know what this means to me. Seeing you standing there is more than I could ever hope for."
"I'm just glad that you're back among the living once more."
Rick thought about how he wanted to ask them about how Kate was doing but feared that he'd fumble it. So, he just came out and asked.
"Mother, Alexis, can you tell me about how Kate handled all of this?"
Martha just looked at Alexis with a sad look. But Alexis was the one who first spoke.
"Dad, a lot has happened since you've been gone."
"That's right Richard. Some things have changed."
Rick just looked at her with a sympathetic look on his face.
"What happened, mother?"
"Richard it's hard to say. What we do know is that Katherine was with us the day we found out you went missing. After that, she became the Huntress. She searched everything. She had maps, flight plans, maps of shipping lanes that were searched, the description of your aircraft, how much fuel it had on hand, and the piece of wing that they found in the Pacific. But then something happened. After about six months into her search, she decided that what she was doing was useless that this was going nowhere. Alexis and I wanted to take her to dinner one night so we suggested that we all make a night of it but she refused. Then she told me that seeing us would make it worse for her if she stayed at the loft. So, she cleared everything out of your office and retreated to her apartment. We've seen her less than a handful of times since that day."
"So she just left you? She gave up on me?"
"Dad, it's not like that. You should have seen how hard she worked for months! How much she had invested into finding you it killed her it really did. And after six months of not having you by her side, it took its toll on her and she just gave up there's no other way to describe it." Alexis explained.
"She's still in the city, right?" Rick hoped.
"Yes she is but she's no longer living in Manhattan. I think she moved somewhere to Brooklyn right after a year's time went by. But that information is years old I'm afraid."
"Is she still a detective with the 12th?"
"She is. But she is no longer in the field anymore after detective Ryan got shot."
"Ryan got shot?"
"Yeah, he did," Alexis added sadly.
"Why? What happened?" Rick practically screamed out.
"I don't know all the particulars dad. All I know is that detective Ryan, detective Esposito, and Kate were serving a warrant for a suspect. Somehow, she became distracted by seeing something in the suspect's apartment and didn't clear the rooms she was supposed to be clearing. The suspect gave the illusion that she left through the fire escape when actually she was hiding in one of the bedrooms that Kate didn't check. She fired directly at Ryan and he received a through-and-through wound which healed. But Kate's mental health was brought up. She was put on a six-month mandatory leave of absence to get her head straight. She had to see a psychiatrist and before going back to work she had to be cleared by the NYPD's psychiatrist. Ever since that incident we haven't seen or heard from her since."
"I'm so sorry dad."
Rick is stunned, to say the least. He can't believe that this could happen to her. But he thought for sure that they were going to be fine when he got back to New York and everything would become the same when he went missing….
A/N from Guest reviews chapter 27
Guest #1: Rick is now on Upolu. It's the middle island between American Samoa and Samoa. This is the Island that has the Faleolo International Airport on it.
Guest #2: At the time of Rick's arrival their main concern (doctors concern) were all too worried about his malaria. Identifying him took a back seat to fingerprints. And then Chloe knew who he was and the rest fell into place.
Chapter 28 A/N: Guest #1: Grammer is corrected! Thanks for the good eye! I'm not too sure if coconut is classified as a fruit though. :(
Guest #2: Alexis is pissed at Kate. There is no way that she'll even pick up the phone to let her know. But it will come back and bite her in the ass fear not!
Guest #3: Purple, She has someone else to keep her informed about his return. So she will know when he gets back to the city.
