I'll never let you down even if I could. I'd give up everything if only for your good. So hold me when I'm here, right me when I'm wrong. You can hold me when I'm scared you won't always be there. So love me when I'm gone, love me when I'm gone."
-3 Doors Down
"Well," Will started. He slipped the hood off his head, fully exposing his face. "Then I guess there's an easy way to put an end to this conversation," he said with a twisted grin.
He raised the gun, and fired.
"No!" a blood-curdling scream echoed as a body fell.
Stepping down the last few stairs into the subway terminal, Castle heard sirens blare on the street above. In all honestly, sirens had become just more background noise. But every time he heard them, he sent a quick, silent prayer up, asking for whomever to be saved.
"So are you and Kate going to get married?" Alexis asked.
Castle spluttered for a few seconds. "What?! What makes you ask that, Pumpkin?" he asked uncomfortably.
Alexis shrugged. "Joey had asked Kate that earlier. And she said yes."
That stopped Castle in his tracks. Kate said yes. Kate wanted to marry him. "Really?" he asked, sounding like a little boy. They stepped onto the train together.
Alexis nodded. "Yeah. She said that she loved you."
"Huh…" Castle said outloud.
"So… are you going to marry her?"
Castle shook his head. "I don't know, Pumpkin. It's not that simple."
"Oh…" Alexis said, a little dejected. "Why?"
The train started moving forward as Castle thought over his next words. "You know what happened with her husband, correct?" At her nod, he continued. "That's going to take a while to get over, no matter how much you love someone else. And Kate… Well, she has a hard time of letting things go. It'll take some time before she's truly ready to be in that serious of a relationship. You understand?"
She nodded. "Joey always tells me how much she misses her dad. But then she says she hates him. Do you think she means that?"
Castle let out a deep breath. "I really don't know. I guess she could. I mean he was terrible to her." Castle looked at the floor, gathering his thoughts. "Pumpkin. No matter what happens to me, remember that I will always love you. You will always be the most important thing in my world. Okay? Even if I do marry Kate—I will always love you more. Never doubt that."
"I won't Daddy. And I won't let you forget about me either," she said with a smile that warmed Castle's heart. She leaned into him, giving him a one-armed hug as she hung on with the other. Castle pressed a kiss into her hair before she moved away. "Can we watch Ironman tonight?"
Castle grinned. He had brought his daughter up well. "Obviously. What else would we watch? A little Robert Downey, Junior never hurt anybody."
They talked about nonsensical things the rest of the way home. Like what superheroes should be wearing. Alexis insisted that tights were okay in her book, while Castle argued that they should look more manly. As they walked into their loft, Castle dialed Kate's number.
Her voicemail picked up. "Hey, Babe," Castle started, just to be antagonistic, "we made it home. Call me when you get this. Love you."
He pocketed his phone as he moved to the kitchen where Alexis was already pulling a bag of popcorn out of the cupboard. In relative silence, which was strange for them, they gathered up a few snacks and bottles of water. Once they were settled on the couch, Castle stole the bowl of popcorn from his daughter, stuffing a handful into his mouth. "Hey! Give it back, Dad!" Alexis exclaimed playfully.
"No, no, no!" Castle yelled with a mouthful of popcorn, a few pieces falling out in the process.
"Ew, Dad, gross," Alexis said with a disgusted twist of her nose.
He swallowed. "Sorry, Pumpkin." His phone rang then. Assuming it was Kate, he answered. "Miss me already, love?" he said, throatily
"Mr. Castle?" an unfamiliar female voice asked.
"This is," Rick said, sitting up. "May I ask who's calling?"
"My name is Alicia Downes. I'm an assistant of Doctor Josh Davidson, a surgeon at Northern Wesleyan Hospital. I'm calling to inform you that the Beckett family was brought in a few minutes ago."
"Shit," Castle breathed. He cleared his throat, "What happened?"
"From the little information we were given, it seems that an intruder broke into the Beckett family home. I can give you more information once you arrive. Your name was listed on the emergency contacts for Katherine and Johanna Beckett."
"I'll be there in a half hour. Can you at least tell me if they're okay?"
The woman paused. "They were both shot," she said quietly. "I am not aware of their current states."
Castle felt his chest tighten painfully, felt tears spring to his eyes. He rubbed a hand over his face. "Th-Thank you," he stammered out. He hung up the phone, jumping to his feet. "Let's go," he told Alexis.
"Where are we going?" Alexis asked, concerned. "Dad? Is everything okay?"
Castle shook his head. "Kate and Johanna are in the hospital."
"Again?" Castle nodded. "Are they okay?"
"I don't know, Pumpkin. We just have to hope they are."
(…)
The duo rushed through the doors of the hospital twenty-five minutes later. Castle directed his daughter towards the reception desk, where a woman sat typing on a computer.
"Excuse me, Ma'am?" The woman looked up from her work with a warm smile. "I just received a call about the Beckett family. Johanna and Kate to be specific. Do you have any information on them?"
"Give me just a moment," she asked. "Okay. Yes, here they are." She frowned. "Why don't you take a seat over there? I'll be out in a minute."
With a heavy sense of dread settling in his stomach, Castle took his daughters hand and led her to the hard plastic chairs. "Everything will be okay, Daddy," she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I know," he breathed, placing a kiss on her forehead.
Just then, the receptionist sat down next to Castle. "I talked to their doctors to get a little more information. Both of them suffered gun shot wounds. Kate was hit in the leg, but the bullet missed anything major. She's okay for the most part. Probably in pain, but they have her under heavy painkillers." Castle breathed a sigh of relief, closing his eyes. "Johanna, on the other hand, she wasn't so lucky."
Castle's heart sunk. No. No, no, no. She can't be dead, please God, no. He gripped Alexis a little bit tighter as the woman continued.
"She was shot in the chest. She's still in surgery now. That's all I really have on her. But, be forewarned, she may not make it out of this." She placed a warm hand on Castle's knee.
His head fell into his hands, trying to not think that such a happy, beautiful little girl could have fallen victim to a murderer. "What about Jim Beckett? He was in the house, too," Castle asked.
The woman sighed. "He was conscious when they were brought it. Looked like just a concussion and some stitches."
"Do they know who was responsible?"
"As of now, no, they do not. But they're looking."
Castle nodded, not trusting his voice any longer.
"Kate's in room 439. You're free to visit her whenever you would like."
"Thank you," he whispered, his voice breaking.
The woman smiled a sad smile, patted his leg, then stood to return to her desk.
"Daddy," Alexis whispered with tears in her voice.
"I know, Pumpkin, I know," he said, bringing her thin body into his. "We're going to have to be strong for them, okay? This is going to be tough on Kate knowing that her daughter is fighting for her life. And if Johanna makes it out, she's going to need all the strength she can get." He felt his daughter nod against his chest. "I want you to go home. I'll call Grams, have her pick you up."
"But, Dad," Alexis began to argue.
"No. You're not fighting me on this. I don't want you to see how bad they are right now."
The steel in his voice was hard to argue, so she just nodded. Castle called his mother asking her to pick Alexis up. He had to briefly explain what had happened while she offered her condolences. Twenty minutes later, Martha and Alexis left the hospital with longing glances at Castle.
With a deep breath, Castle began making his way to Kate. He paused at her door. He figured she didn't know how bad Johanna was. And to be honest, he didn't want to be the one to tell her. But he knew he had to. He opened the door, and stepped inside.
Kate laid in the middle of the hospital bed, a gown draping her thin frame. She looked pale. Castle didn't like it. He swallowed, moving forward to seat himself next to the head of the bed. He stared at her, wishing more than anything that he could talk to her. He leaned down to press his lips to her forehead. He lingered there for a moment, just absorbing the fact that she was alive, and she would definitely be okay. He pulled back, his hand finding one of hers atop the bed sheet.
He sat there for an hour, just holding her hand, praying that both she and her daughter would make it out of this. He was going to kill the bastard who shot them with his bare hands. A small twitch of her hand brought Castle's attention back to her. He watched as her eyes fluttered for a few minutes before opening all the way.
"Castle," she breathed, her voice throaty and dry.
"Kate," he said on a breath. "Kate, thank God you're okay." He let his head fall to her pillow, so grateful that she had woken up. He leaned towards her, giving her a soft kiss on her mouth. She returned it weakly.
"What happened?" she asked against his skin.
"After I left, someone broke into your dad's house," he began, not knowing how to finish it.
"Will," she said clearly, her eyes falling closed again.
"What?" he asked.
"It was Will. Will broke in. He had a gun and he shot—" her eyes sprang open. "He shot Johanna. Where's Johanna? Where's my daughter?" she asked, her voice getting more hysterical by the second. She tried to sit up, but Castle pushed her gently back down. Tears were streaming down her face. "Where is she Rick?" she asked him, sounding utterly heart-broken. "Please tell me she's okay."
Castle's eyes fell from hers to the bed covers. He didn't want to do this. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself. Two hysterical people would be no good. "Oh no," Kate whispered. "No, no. Please God no. Rick tell me she's okay," she pleaded with him. He felt his heart break in two as he brought his eyes back up to hers. What she saw there did nothing to help her. "I didn't save her. He killed her, didn't he?" she began to sob.
"Kate, relax. Relax, baby, please," he soothed her, pushing her hair out of her face and wiping her eyes. "She's alive. She's in surgery though. But, uhm… they—they don't know if she'll make it out of surgery."
"Rick—" her voice trembled. "I can't do this. I can't. She's everything to me."
"I know, baby, I know." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You need to calm down," he whispered against her hair. "They'll drug you again if you don't."
She hiccupped, trying to calm her breathing. "I'll be right here through everything. I promise, I won't ever leave you."
Castle had somehow moved from the chair next to her bed to sitting by her hip. He held her while her tears slowed to a stop. "Your dad is okay. Has a concussion and needed some stitches, but he's good. He's coherent. Alexis is worried. She asked me if I was going to marry you today. And all I wanted to tell her was that I hope so. Kate, you're my world now. I don't think I'll ever be able to let you go."
She gave him a small smile as a knock sounded at her door. A very handsome man came through the door. "Hi, my names Dr. Josh Davidson," he introduced himself, shaking Castle's hand. "I was in charge of your daughter's surgery. I just wanted to inform you of a few complications…"
A/N: Guys. I am just on a roll these past few days. This one wasn't anything spectacular but I felt like this was a good place to leave off… Let me know what you think!
My little sister is in a contest to be ONE DIRECTION's biggest fan, and she needs votes to win. If you could all take a quick second to vote for her at the URL below, it'd be much appreciated. Follow me on Instagram just_a_fantasy_girll
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(Take the spaces out…)
Thoughts?
