Author's Note: After the last few heavy, emotional chapters, this one is a more transitional, fun one. Enjoy.

Nothing Lost

Chapter 26

When Castle returned that afternoon, it was immediately clear that he'd recovered all his usual insouciance.

Kate heard the sound of footsteps through the partially open door of her room and identified them as his—when had she started being able to recognize Castle's footsteps?—even before her door was pushed open to reveal Castle.

He looked happy, cheerful in a way that had her heart jumping because at that moment, he looked so much like the man she'd first gotten to know, the hyperactive man-child. "Good afternoon, Becketts," he greeted both her and her dad, a glint of mischief in his expression at the use of the plural. "Are you ready to bust out of this joint, Beckett?" he added, focusing on her.

Kate bit her lip to keep from smiling too widely. "Hi, Castle," was all she said with a calm she didn't feel. Yes, this was definitely Castle. She hadn't realized until then that she had missed this side of him, as odd as it sounded since it had once annoyed her so much. But she had missed his exuberance, his tendency to boyish excitement.

He really had changed, grown up, in the last two years and she couldn't deny that seeing the more serious side of him had made her feelings deeper—his understanding, his compassion, his caring. But she wanted all of him, all the different facets of this complicated man she'd come to know. The impulsive, playful man-child and the kind, thoughtful man.

Beside her, she heard her dad give a little cough that didn't quite disguise his chuckle. "You weren't kidding when you said he was very excitable," he commented as an aside, under his breath.

But, of course, Castle heard and laughed aloud. "Alexis says the same thing," he chimed in. "You really did talk about me two years ago, didn't you?"

It was her dad's turn to look somewhat less than comfortable. "Rick, I—"

Castle's expression became more sincere. "Don't worry about it, Jim. Kate's never been shy about telling me my irritating qualities," he added with a smirk at her.

"Not that you ever seemed to listen," she shot back.

"Nope, I'm impervious like that," he responded blithely. "Anyway, I brought you something." With that, he brought the hand he'd kept behind his back forward, presenting her with a gift bag.

She blinked at the bag. "You got me a gift?" She supposed she shouldn't really be so surprised except, well, she was surprised. Castle's generosity had ranged from the huge but secret gesture of paying a fortune for a chance at her mom's killer to the more mundane cups of coffee he'd taken to bringing her in the mornings but nothing else in between. They weren't in the habit of exchanging real gifts in gift bags.

"Just a little something to celebrate you getting out of the ICU."

"Oh. I wasn't expecting..."

"I know. That's why it's called a surprise," he told her as smugly as if he had personally invented the entire concept of surprises.

She rolled her eyes at him even as she sternly suppressed the urge to smile. Yes, he was definitely her cocky Castle again. (Wait, what—hers?) "I'm familiar with the concept," she informed him dryly as she accepted the gift bag, noting how light it was, her fingers delving into the tissue paper until she touched something soft and—furry? She pushed aside the tissue paper and pulled out a plush elephant. Oh.

It was an absurd gift—of course, it was—since she was a grown up and not someone who had cared for dolls or stuffed animals much as it was and certainly not for the last 20 years or so. It was absurd, ridiculous—and absurdly, ridiculously sweet. She felt her throat get tight with a stupid surge of emotion as she studied the elephant that might have been the most adorable thing she'd seen in years. Plush and gray, with big, floppy ears, black eyes, a softly curved trunk and—the final touch—a ribbon in her favorite shade of purple tied in a jaunty little bow around the elephant's neck. The ribbon was, she strongly suspected, Castle's addition; she hadn't realized he even knew what her favorite color was but somehow, it didn't surprise her. Of course he knew, this man who'd learned her precise coffee order and seemed to have an endless supply of curiosity about her.

"You got me an elephant," were the first words that escaped her mouth, inanely, and she hurriedly added, trying to sound more like her usual businesslike Detective Beckett persona in order to hide the rush of emotion she felt, "So are you saying you think I'm like a child, who needs a stuffed animal to feel better?"

"Now, Katie…" her dad began, a thread of faint admonishment entering his tone. One of his 'I'm still your dad' tones.

"Well, if you don't want it…" Castle drew the words out in a lazy drawl before moving as if to retrieve the gift.

Kate reacted automatically, clutching the soft plush tighter against her, her other hand pausing in petting the elephant's head. "No, it's mine."

Castle smirked, pleasure written all over his face. "I knew you'd like it, Beckett. You like elephants and this one is so cute not even you can resist."

"Stop looking so smug," she ordered, tried to order, although she suspected her tone came out sounding more fond than stern. "It's the elephant that's cute, not you."

"Impervious, remember?" he flipped back. "You don't fool me, Beckett, I know you like me."

"I'm rethinking my opinion of you right about now," she drawled, balling up some of the tissue paper and tossing it at him.

"This is a strange way of accepting a gift," her dad interjected, making them both turn to look at her dad and Kate flushed a little, realizing it had rather slipped her mind, that her dad was witnessing this display of their banter. Possibly not their finest moment. But her dad directed a pleased smile at her that also encompassed Castle. "But it seems to work for you and you understand each other."

Castle slanted a quick, soft glance at her before he faced her dad again. "I've always thought Kate was a mystery but I like to think we're getting better at understanding each other."

She remembered the way he'd called her a mystery he would never solve and remembered, too, his more recent prediction that they would be great together. Maybe… she wanted to believe it and as she looked down at the elephant again, smoothing a finger over the soft fur, she felt hope sprouting inside her. "Yeah, I think we're getting better," she echoed quietly, directing the words more to the plush elephant than to anyone else.

There was a brief moment of silence before her dad cleared his throat a little. "So, an elephant, Rick?"

"I figured Kate had to like elephants since she keeps a parade of elephant figurines on her desk at work."

The mention of the elephants on her desk made Kate look up to see the immediate understanding on her dad's face. "Oh," her dad said, so softly it was hardly audible. "Johanna's elephants."

Castle heard and she saw him stiffen, his expression immediately softening as it always did at any mention of her mom.

"I didn't know you kept them on your desk at work, Katie," her dad went on, trying to sound casual.

"I like seeing them," she managed. "They remind me of Mom." Those elephants were the only personal keepsake she kept out on her desk. Unlike almost everyone else, she'd never had personal pictures or other keepsakes on display, kept her desk as a space devoted to work, much like her life. But the elephants that had once graced her mom's desk were the exception.

She met Castle's eyes and realized they were both remembering that Castle had asked her about the elephants once, early on in their partnership. Another of his questions to try to learn more about her but at the time, she'd stone-walled his prying, distracting him by changing the subject to something else, what she couldn't remember now. And then she'd ordered him sternly to leave the elephants alone, giving him one of the rare looks that he'd tended to obey.

At the time, she hadn't wanted to tell Castle anything about her mom, distrusting his response, as if he would make light of it or otherwise not understand. But that had been then. She was suddenly struck again with how far they had come.

"She did love those figurines," her dad affirmed quietly, glancing away to compose himself, before he continued with an attempt at lightness, "I never did quite understand your mom's affinity for elephants."

Kate manufactured a teasing smile, pasting it on. "Maybe it's because elephants tend to be matriarchal."

Her dad mustered up a real smile at that. "Trust your mom to appreciate that."

"I guess that must be why elephants are considered to be so smart," Castle inserted mildly.

She threw Castle a smile at that. "Clearly, Martha's trained you well."

Her dad chuckled.

Castle made a face at her. "Don't tell my mother that. She doesn't need the encouragement. Besides, it's Alexis who's really trained me well."

"That, I can believe," she agreed.

"It's—" But whatever Castle had been about to say was lost as there was a knock on the door and a man in nurse's scrubs appeared.

"Miss Beckett? I'm Victor. Dr. Ogawa told me that you're to be transferred out of the ICU today. Are you ready to go?"

On her agreement, what ended up being a surprisingly easy process began. Kate had been wondering how she would be moved as she didn't have much confidence in her ability to get out of her bed or sit upright even in a wheelchair for long but as it happened, she wasn't required to do anything at all. Victor detached the morphine drip and then just moved the hospital gurney, leaving her dad and Castle to follow, Castle carrying the bouquets from him and the one from Evelyn Montgomery, which she'd decided to keep, while the other bouquets would be distributed among the other ICU patients.

The little procession moved down one floor to what she was informed was the surgical recovery ward and she was pleasantly surprised to discover that she would continue to have a private room. She hadn't realized the NYPD's insurance would cover a private hospital room for however long the rest of her hospital stay would be and had been trying not to feel apprehensive about the idea of sharing a room with a total stranger, a stranger whose presence would undoubtedly make any visits awkward.

"Well, this is nice," her dad commented, almost echoing her thoughts. "You even have a real window now, Katie. Oh, and you have your own personal bathroom and even a closet."

It was her first glimpse of the outdoors in a week, although given her position she couldn't see much, just a patch of bright blue sky. Like the day of Montgomery's funeral. She had an abrupt, searing flash of memory, of lying on her back in the grass, seeing the clear blue skies stretching above her as she bled out… She flinched, clamping her lips shut on what might have been a whimper, as her chest burned.

"Kate." Something soft nudged her hands, making her start a little, her eyes opening to see Castle. Oh. Her breath stuttered in her throat. Castle and, she realized belatedly, the plush elephant which he was using to nudge her hands. She closed her hands around the elephant, the softness of the fur somehow soothing her.

"Jim, where do you think the flowers should go?" Castle spoke up, making a show of bustling around the room to position the bouquets first on the small table and then to another stand by the door and then on the window sill, keeping up a running commentary on the relative merits of each spot and drawing her dad into the discussion.

He was distracting her dad, she realized, allowing her to recover some measure of calm while not worrying her dad, whose inspection of her new room's features had, thankfully, meant that he hadn't noticed her reaction to the window.

Castle's prattle about the bouquets, which ended in them being placed on the window sill, gave her just enough cover that when her dad turned to see what she thought of the placement of the flowers, she was able to muster up a smile for his benefit. She might still feel shaky inside and was making a point of keeping her eyes averted from the window but she could manage enough to keep from worrying her dad.

With Castle's help. Even once the bouquets were placed, Castle's distractions continued as he persuaded her dad to step outside of her new room to take note of the surroundings and to introduce themselves to the nurses on duty (reasoning that the personal attention would make the nurses that much more responsive to anything she might need, which was true enough that her dad readily agreed).

Yes, Castle was helping. Even more than she'd realized he would. She hadn't considered that his presence, as company and a distraction to her dad, would help so much. Giving her time and space where she could focus on herself without worrying about keeping up a good front for her dad.

Castle really did have her back, was acting as her partner, without a word or a look from her. As if he knew what she needed and would provide it, without hesitation. She looked down at the elephant, fingering one floppy ear. Such a silly gift, a plush animal, but so like him. Another sign of his generosity, his caring.

Castle and her dad were not gone for long but by the time they returned, she was feeling calmer, was able to smile without much effort and listen as they told her about the nurses they had met.

Unsurprisingly, Castle, with his charm and interest in people, had apparently managed to learn the potted life stories of the nurses in just a couple minutes. Esther, the head nurse, had worked at the hospital for 20 years now and had two kids, a son and a daughter, in high school now. Carlos, another nurse, had been at the hospital for 10 years, and he and his wife, a teacher, had a five-year-old daughter and a two-year-son, who ran them both ragged. Lastly was Leslie, the youngest of the three. (From a slight change in Castle's tone and the paucity of information about Leslie, Kate guessed that Leslie had shown indications of being susceptible to Castle's looks and charm so he had not talked to her beyond the bare introductions.)

The conversation was interrupted when a woman in a white doctor's coat came in after a brief knock, introducing herself as Dr. Gupta, who would be overseeing Kate's recovery going forward. Dr. Gupta questioned Kate as to how she felt in some detail and subjected her to some tests, all of which Kate duly responded to but never mentioned that she couldn't even see a scrap of blue sky without panicking like some lunatic.

Castle had tactfully made himself scarce during Dr. Gupta's visit and only returned after she'd left, promising (or warning) more thorough tests the next day. "Is everything okay?" he asked, his tone casual, but his eyes were concerned and Kate was aware that he was searching her expression.

"Fine," she answered with a small smile.

"Dr. Gupta said Katie's recovery is proceeding as well as can be expected," her dad added with more cheer than the news, or lack thereof, really warranted. But her dad was in the business of optimism these days, trying hard to pretend that he wasn't worried at all.

"That's good to know. Oh, Alexis was wondering if it would be okay for her to stop by and see you, Kate. Are you up for a visit?"

"Alexis wants to visit?"

"She said she wants to see how you are, now that you're out of the ICU. I think she's been worried but if you're not up for it or if it'll be a bother, that's fine. She'll understand," Castle hurriedly reassured.

She hadn't expected it but she managed a smile. She liked Alexis but more than that, she could see that this meant something to Castle too. "Of course she's welcome to visit. Besides," she added with studious innocence, "it's always nice to see little Castle; it's her dad who can be a pest."

Castle made a face at her. "What's sad is that you actually think you're funny," he pretended to lament.

"Says the man who spends half his time telling lame jokes," she needled, biting back a smirk. Giving Castle a hard time like this made her feel more like her usual self; it was oddly comforting.

He bridled in exaggerated offense. "My jokes are not lame! I'm famous for my humor and wit! It's part of my charm."

"Your charm, right. I think that's your ego talking," she drawled.

He huffed while her dad gave a cough that was a poor disguise for a chuckle.

"Are you two always like this?"

She glanced at Castle as they exchanged quick smiles. "Pretty much."

"I guess you must be feeling better if you can tease Rick like this," her dad observed smilingly.

"Well, he is easy to tease," she agreed only half-humorously.

Castle affected a sigh. "There she goes again. I hope Alexis hurries up. I think I need some back up here."

"Are you so sure Alexis will be on your side? From what I've heard from Katie, Alexis likes to tease you too," her dad interjected mildly and Kate glanced at him to see just a hint of mischief lurking around his mouth.

"Jim!" Castle's expression of exaggerated dismay made both her and her dad laugh and it occurred to her that her dad and Castle really had become friends. It was a little odd but also… nice. She couldn't quite explain why it seemed so significant but somehow, it did, that these two most important men in her life (oh god—because Castle really was one of them, wasn't he?) got along.

And in belated insight, it occurred to her that perhaps her dad had not wholeheartedly liked either Will or Tom, not that he'd ever said a negative word about either of them. Her dad had only met Tom once but he'd met Will several times when she and Will had been together and had been perfectly civil. Even after Will had left, her dad had not criticized Will outright; the closest he'd come was saying he thought Will might come to regret the choice he made. But now it occurred to her that her dad had never really laughed in either Will's or Tom's company, polite smiles and the occasional chuckle, yes, but not real laughter. Admittedly, neither Will nor Tom had been masters of humor but still.

Her dad asked after Martha and Castle regaled them with a story of the disastrous dinner where Martha had tried to convince a theatre critic to mention her acting school favorably in one of her columns, displaying the dramatic talent that he must have inherited from Martha.

Kate was content to lie back and watch the interplay between Castle and her dad, her eyes resting in turn on Castle's animated expression, the brightness of his eyes—yes, this was much more like the man she'd first met—and then on her dad's smiling face, noting that some of the lines worry had carved around his mouth had eased.

A knock on the door had Castle breaking off, mid-sentence, as the door opened to reveal Alexis's bright head. "Can I come in?"

Kate smiled at the girl, hoping to ease the trace of shyness in the girl's expression. "Hi, Alexis. It's nice of you to visit."

Castle leaped up to tug Alexis into a hug. "There you are, pumpkin."

"Hi, Dad, Mr. Beckett."

"Nice to see you again, Alexis," Jim greeted the girl.

"I brought dinner," Alexis offered. "It's just soup and sandwiches but I figured if I was going to visit, I could spare you another meal from the hospital cafeteria."

"That was thoughtful of you. Thank you," her dad smiled while Castle accepted the bag of food Alexis offered.

Alexis left Castle to set out the food and approached Kate, her blue eyes wide with concern. "Hi, Kate. How are you feeling?"

"I'm better, thanks, Alexis."

"I'm glad." Alexis hesitated and then asked, "Would it be okay if I hugged you?"

"Of course." There was the sweet girl Castle always talked about.

The teenager's expression brightened and she bent to give Kate a gentle hug, taking care not to put any pressure on Kate at all. It took some effort but Kate managed to lift her arms to return the hug, a little gingerly, patting the girl on the back. Lifting the arm on the side with the incision pulled the wound a little but she decided it was worth it to see the way the worry clouding the girl's eyes dissipated. As Alexis straightened up, Kate glanced up to meet Castle's eyes as he watched them with so much unguarded tenderness in his expression that she felt her heart flutter.

Kate tugged her eyes from Castle to see that Alexis's eyes had dropped down to the plush elephant, surprise and pleasure lighting the girl's face, especially now that her worry had been somewhat assuaged. "Oh, your elephant is so cute, Kate!"

"Your dad gave it to me," she informed Alexis.

Alexis relaxed into a brief chuckle. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me," she quipped, shooting Castle an impish look.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment to my taste," he informed his daughter with mock hauteur.

"I think the elephant needs a name," Kate inserted. "Why don't you come up with a name, Alexis?"

Castle slanted a look at her. "Are you sure that's wise? This is the same child who named her stuffed monkey Monkey Bunkey," he murmured not quite under his breath.

"Dad!" Alexis shot him an et tu Bruté look, as she colored up to her hair.

Kate suppressed her laugh for Alexis's sake. "That's okay, Alexis. I don't pay attention to what he says. You should name the elephant."

Alexis studied the plush elephant for a moment, apparently taking on her new task with all the sense of responsibility and seriousness Castle was so proud of in her. "Dot," she pronounced.

Castle gave a badly disguised laugh that Kate ignored. "Dot," she repeated. "I think I like it but why Dot?"

"Because it's such a cute word to say and the elephant is so cute so it should have a cute name. Plus, I think 'dot' is a fun word to say, it makes me want to smile when I say it so I thought it would make you smile too."

Kate laughed a little at this explanation. "Spoken like your father's daughter. Dot it is," she agreed.

Now Alexis dimpled. "Thanks, Kate. Oh, you guys should eat. I don't want the soup to get cold."

"I hope you plan to stay and have dinner with us," Jim spoke up.

"Yes, stay, Alexis," Kate chimed in.

"Of course she's staying, right, pumpkin?" Castle draped an arm around Alexis's shoulders.

"I'll stay," Alexis agreed, briefly tipping her head to rest against Castle's shoulder.

Kate felt warmth swamp her heart at the sight, the way Castle's expression softened as it always did around Alexis, the kiss he dropped on her hair before releasing her.

Her dad, Castle, and Alexis sat in a half-circle of visitor chairs arranged around Kate's bed with Castle serving everyone, at his own insistence.

Kate wasn't sure if it had been by design but from what she knew of Alexis, was pretty sure it had been that Alexis had brought food that Kate could eat. The doctor had told her to slowly ease into eating solid foods again so she was able to join them in having a bowl of soup, although she declined a sandwich and nibbled a small piece of bread instead.

Alexis was the center of attention as first Kate's dad followed by Castle, asked about her classes and how her studying for her finals that started next week was going. The teen answered easily and was soon chatting freely about her studies and her friends, her usual, engaging self.

Kate had never seen her dad interact with Alexis before, although she could guess that her dad must have met Alexis during the hours everyone spent in the waiting room while Kate was in surgery. Certainly not ideal circumstances for an introduction but it was clear that despite the circumstances, Alexis had already succeeded in winning Jim Beckett over.

Aside from the occasional comment or question, Castle too largely left Alexis and her dad to carry on the bulk of the conversation, watching Alexis with affectionate pride written over his expression. He glanced over to meet Kate's eyes and his expression brightened as he shot her a quick smile, made more personal by the softness of his eyes.

The brief exchange of smiles was all as Castle smoothly turned his attention back to his daughter but somehow, it still left Kate with warmth and hope lingering in her chest. She wasn't quite sure why but it seemed like a hopeful sign that her dad apparently liked Castle's daughter too.

Once they were done eating, Alexis started to take her leave, citing the need to study for her finals, giving Castle a quick hug.

The girl bent to give Kate another cautious hug, lingering for just a moment as she whispered, "I'm really happy for you and Dad, Kate. I know Dad's really missed you."

Kate tried not to stiffen as she darted a look at Castle. Oh, he'd told Alexis about, well, them, their relationship. She wasn't sure why that surprised her. And Alexis was happy about it? Which was good, but also surprising. She had somehow expected that Alexis would think Castle could do better or something, find someone who hadn't hurt him more than once.

Alexis straightened up, adding in her usual voice, "I'm glad you're feeling better, Kate. Grams and I were worried about you."

Kate managed a smile. "Say hello to Martha and thank her for thinking about me."

"I will."

"Good luck on your finals, Alexis."

"Thanks, Kate."

The girl turned to Jim. "It was nice talking to you, Mr. Beckett."

"Likewise, Alexis, but actually, why don't I walk out with you? It's probably about time I head home too. I'm sure Katie's tired of me by now," he added humorously.

"Dad!" Kate exclaimed. "You know that's not true."

Her dad only smiled as he bent to kiss Kate's cheek. "I know you're in good hands with Rick here so I might as well head home and get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"If you're sure, Dad."

"Pumpkin, you used the car service, right?" Castle asked Alexis quietly and at Alexis's assent, raised his voice to interject, "If you're set on leaving now, Jim, why don't you share the car with Alexis? The driver can just as easily drop you off at your place as well as taking Alexis home."

Her dad demurred but was persuaded into agreeing. Alexis chimed in to second the invitation, Kate spoke up to accept the invitation on her dad's behalf (more because she was starting to realize that Castle truly liked being able to do things like this for people he cared about), and Castle insisted it was absolutely no trouble and he wouldn't take no for an answer.

With that settled, Castle then volunteered to walk them both out, explaining he would just have a word with the driver so Jim could be assured it was really no trouble, only pausing to assure Kate quickly that he would be right back.

So in the span of just a few minutes, the room that had been cheerful and positively bustling with conversation and life was reduced to quiet and Kate was alone again. But not for long, of course, as Castle would no doubt return shortly.

Now that her dad was gone, Kate let her head fall back onto the bed, her eyes closing, acknowledging that she was tired. It was ridiculous, how tired she became just from having done little more strenuous than staying awake all day, but somehow, she was. She'd tried to hide it but it occurred to her that her dad might have noticed or guessed anyway and hastened his departure for that reason.

Well, Castle would be back and she could relax with him. She wasn't sure exactly when Castle had become such a comforting presence but somehow, he was.

~To be continued…~

A/N 2: Thank you to all readers and reviewers.