Bear and I 2
Chapter 5
Kate hissed loudly yet again as Rick lifted her up into a sitting position since he'd brought her dinner. She had fallen asleep again which probably wasn't so bad. Stuck in bed with a fair amount of pain meant she wasn't going anywhere any time soon.
"Advil, water. I only have just so much morphine and since I'm not a doctor I prefer not to use the stuff unless I have to," Rick explained.
Kate was happy to find her saline bag gone when she woke. It meant there wasn't a needle in her arm and since she hated needles with a passion, this was an improvement.
"So what's for dinner?" Rick handed her another bowl and she was thinking soup again. Instead she saw something far more interesting and it even smelled pretty good. "Stew?"
"It's one of our staples. Alexis isn't very good with silverware so I have to drain out the soup part and she just eats the pieces using her fingers. After I put a bib on her, of course." Rick grinned at her which had Kate smiling a little. She could just imagine little Alexis sitting there with this way too big bib on her eating a stew as finger food.
Kate stirred her stew. "I see carrots." But Rick had said something about being way out in the middle of nowhere and that they were trapped here.
"They're from my greenhouse. The same place I got the onion and the potatoes and a lot of everything else I use. Summer's over so the garden's closed," Rick said and watched as Kate took her first bite. He wanted to know what she thought of it.
At first she frowned a bit. It had a different taste to it. It was off somehow. Still she ate it and dug in for another spoonful. This time she was determined to figure out what was different. "I can't place the meat." She wanted to say beef but that was clearly wrong.
"It's moose," Rick told her and watched her eyes open wide in shock at that statement. "No cows out here. Of course that also means no fresh milk and when you have a 2-year-old that has proven to be a problem with no real solution."
Kate tried another spoonful now that she knew what the meat was and attempted to decide if she liked it or not. "Moose, huh? It's not bad, Castle." Kate kept feeding herself since she wasn't going to let Castle hand feed her. She wasn't a baby.
"I'm glad you like it because you'll be eating it a lot. Yell if you want seconds, we have plenty. I need to go check on Alexis. Thankfully we have a vacuum cleaner named Shadow if she manages to drop anything." Rick joked with her and actually got a touch of a giggle out of her.
Now Kate was watching this massive black dog scooping up everything Alexis unintentionally or intentionally dropped onto the floor. This was not the Richard Castle she had pictured him to be in her mind. Given that Alexis was eating at her little table in her room. Her table was the perfect height for Shadow. Though as big as he was any table was perhaps his height.
He was just as handsome as his picture on the back of his books, if not even more so. He was also a lot bigger than she thought. She was also thinking he was well muscled under what he was wearing. Kate shook her head. She wasn't going down that road. It wasn't happening. He had his life and she had hers. Just as soon as she could get back there, that was.
- :: - ::: - :: -
Rick was back with seconds. He handed over the bowl and watched her dig in. Apparently she liked his stew. He wondered what was she going to think about smoked fish since he had a smoker outside. Or even smoked moose for that matter. She was going to be here long enough to find out.
Kate stopped Rick as he was leaving. "Castle? Does my dad know where I am?" He had said trapped and isolated.
"Yes, well mostly. Not exactly where maybe but he does know that you crashed in a helicopter and that you're alive. Homicide detective Katherine Beckett of New York City." Rick grinned at her.
"You know about that, do you?" She knew she hadn't told him.
"Isolated doesn't mean lost in the wilderness. Eat your stew. There's ice cream for desert afterwards," Rick promised.
"Ice cream!?" Kate was suddenly interested. To her isolated meant limited options. It was just this bedroom wasn't what she was thinking isolated would look like. This did not look like a log home.
"I'll take that as a yes." Rick smiled at her and left her to check on Alexis and how she was coming along.
Rick was back eventually and switched out her empty bowl for one with ice cream in it. She also watched as Alexis came walking in along with Shadow. Alexis stood there and watched her eat her ice cream while Shadow sat there and watched every move her hand made.
"Yum, strawberry!" She was again not expecting this. Castle was turning out to be full of surprises. "No, don't tell me. Your greenhouse."
"Very good. Just don't expect it very often. My greenhouse isn't that big and my strawberry patch is even smaller. However, once it's grown big enough there's one whole watermelon out there so you can look forward to that in the future."
"I suppose there are pumpkins out there too?" Kate was teasing him.
"Naturally. Can't have pumpkin heads for Halloween without pumpkins," Rick mentioned and that apparently opened the flood gates for Alexis since Kate was up, eating, and talking. She proceeded to tell Kate everything she knew about Halloween. Which apparently was a lot. Kate was satisfied to eat and just listen.
Kate was done and Castle was gone with her bowls, glass, and spoons but Alexis and Shadow were still here till suddenly Kate heard, "Pee pee." Alexis ran out of her room and that had Kate raising an eyebrow. However, she went out a different door so she was guessing bathroom maybe.
"Potty training?" Kate knew next to nothing about children. But potty training at two years old sounded rather advanced to her.
Except no one came back and it left her there with just Shadow for company who sat there and looked at her. "So do you play ball or something?" Kate asked him. He barked at her and was up in a flash and she got to see what had to be at least a 100 pound dog running out of her room.
"I'll take that as a yes," Kate said to herself. Sure enough he came back with this yellow tennis ball which he let Kate take it out of his mouth. He took off after it when she threw it out the door and into the living room.
"This place is weird," Kate muttered. Shadow came bounding back with the ball but made Kate take it out of his mouth. "Ewww, it's soggy already." Kate held it with just two fingers and threw it out the door. She saw dog slobber go flying everywhere and Shadow took off after it.
Kate had a new problem and it was a doozy. "CASTLE!" She was never going to be able to do this on her own. Her leg was already on fire and she knew it would get worse if she tried it.
Castle showed up with Shadow next to him who had a ball in his mouth. "I see you've found one of Shadow's weaknesses. It also means I get to mop the floors." He didn't have carpet anywhere. Carpet in Alaska especially where he lived was a terrible idea.
Kate grimaced. "Toilet. NOW!" she blurted.
Rick hadn't even given any thought to this moment in time. Suddenly he had a problem he hadn't accounted for. "Toilet, right."
He knew Alexis was off the toilet since she had informed him she needed to use it like a good girl. It was just his fix for his toilet was to put on a seat meant for Alexis so she didn't end up IN the toilet. It also meant her feet didn't even come close to touching the floor.
"Oh, boy." He also knew Kate was totally naked under those covers and save for her leg he hadn't seen anything since he had put her there.
"Okay, let's get the covers off first." Rick started with that. This allowed both of them to see that yes, Kate had bruises. To Kate it helped explain why she had pain in more places than just her leg. She was also indeed naked. COMPLETELY NAKED!
"This is probably going to hurt," Rick warned her and began trying to get her up and off the bed. This naturally had Kate crying out from the pain. Her ribs were clearly bruised but it also meant her left leg had to move and that was what had her crying out.
It also had Alexis running into the room and finding her daddy holding onto a naked Kate. Alexis put her hands over her eyes so she didn't see.
"Alexis. OUT! NOW!" Rick didn't mean to yell at her but he had. Alexis took her hands down and ran to the living room with Shadow in hot pursuit.
Kate groaned all the way to the bathroom that she saw was a lot bigger and a lot nicer than she had thought it would be. It had a claw foot tub, a shower in the corner, a toilet, along with two pedestal sinks and a storage closet. It even had a picture of something on the wall but she was focused on reaching the toilet.
Rick had to remove Alexis's seat first that ended up on the floor and Rick eased her down with her left leg sticking out. They had just barely made it when Rick figured out why she had to use the toilet. Diarrhea.
Apparently between the accident and eating what she wasn't used to eating hadn't set well with her system.
"Pepto." Rick left her, went to the storage cabinet and opened it up to go through it.
As embarrassing as this was it was even worse as she continued to use the toilet. She was sitting there naked, totally exposed, and stinking up the place. Then it got worse! Rick moved to turn on the fan.
God! All Kate wanted to do right now was die. How could this get any worse?
Then in walked Shadow who was sniffing the air. He had a new smell he was tracking down. "Shadow OUT!" Kate told him. Except he doesn't move. "BALL!" That got him moving. Now she was watching Castle.
She saw a shit load of toilet paper, towels, and all kinds of things. He looked to be ready for anything. Except he didn't have any tampons or pads. Okay, things could get worse.
"Pepto." Rick was relieved and turned around to look at Kate and show her he had these little pink tablets she could take instead of a liquid. They lasted longer. "Oops." Rick spun and put his back to her.
Seeing a naked Kate sitting on the toilet with one leg sticking way out in front of her wasn't a memory he really needed to keep but was afraid he wasn't ever going to forget it.
It also had Kate grinning just a bit. He was sweet, plus handsome, and maybe a hunk but this was still embarrassing as hell! Then suddenly Shadow was back and he had a tennis ball in his mouth and was trying to give it to her.
"OH GOD!" Kate hung her head.
"Shadow, go find Alexis," Rick said and Kate saw him run away with his ball.
"Isn't he just going to bring Alexis here when he comes back?" Kate asked him since having Alexis see her like this was about as bad as it could get.
Rick groaned. "Good point. Are you done yet?" He didn't hear much anymore.
"Just about." Kate tore off some toilet paper, folded it, and started wiping her messy butt. She tore off some more toilet paper and kept that up till she was clean.
"Ready, I think." She was still naked and Castle was going to see everything yet again. God she hated this.
Moving her left leg had her crying out from the pain yet again and she let Castle practically carry her back to the bed and sat her down.
She was still hissing from the pain. "Can I have a t-shirt or something?" Kate really, really wanted some kind of cover. She was thankfully not a flat-chested 15-year-old any longer but that didn't mean she was an exhibitionist. Especially when there was a 2-year-old in the house and she didn't even know Castle except for what he put in his books.
"This one work for you?" Rick held it up so she could see it.
"People don't TAN in Ketchikan, Alaska they RUST!" Kate couldn't help it. She began laughing till the pain in her ribs made her stop. "Thanks." Kate snatched it and groaned as she worked at getting it over her head. It was seriously too big for her but that was fine by her.
"Now let's see if we can get you back into bed. Oops, Pepto first." Rick handed over the tablets and went into the bathroom to find a glass and fill it with water.
Kate chewed them and hated the taste. They tasted just like Pepto Bismol and that meant terrible. Kate grinned at what looked like Alexis's glass, meant just for her to wash these things down with.
Kate had hopes that these things would work because she definitely didn't want to do that again. Maybe she would die in her sleep so she didn't have to do that again.
Getting back into bed hurt just as bad. She watched Rick leave her again and come back with four orange Advil pills and another glass of water. "You're going to have to live with Advil. No more morphine unless you really start screaming," Rick told her.
That worked for her. She didn't want any more morphine for a lot of reasons.
"Now go to sleep." Rick kissed her forehead again and began to leave.
Kate stopped him. She wasn't brave enough to ask him why he was kissing her forehead so she asks something else. ""Castle? Where is Maddy now?" Everyone was dead but her and that little girl had no business being dead. She'd had her whole life in front of her.
"I buried her and put rocks over her grave so that no animal would get interested and dig her up and placed a marker," Rick said. "I didn't know her name at the time. I added a name as soon as i learned it."
Kate was grateful for that. "Can I see her?" She wanted so badly to say something over her grave.
"Just as soon as you're well enough, Kate. Though since it's still snowing it's going to be muddy and eventually covered in several feet of snow," Rick warned her.
"I need to do this." She felt she had to do this. It was the very least she could do for her.
"We'll think of something. Now go to sleep while I think about what you can eat that doesn't cause that again." Rick finally left her.
Yeah, she didn't need to go through that again. Kate looked around again at this room. This place from what she had seen of it, wasn't what she was expecting. The more she thought about it she realized it was perfect for him. He had to have money. He was a successful writer. But she didn't understand why he lived way out here.
It was certainly a big bedroom and a big bed and very comfortable bed. He even had pictures on the wall. "Why bears?" Every picture showed bears somewhere.
"Daddy? Her's sick?" Alexis could smell it even with the exhaust fan still working. It reeked.
"A little. She's also in pain so be very nice to her. She isn't going to get out of bed and play with you." Rick didn't want Alexis bothering her to do too much.
Then suddenly a tennis ball came out of his bedroom with Shadow hot on its trail. Rick groaned. "Okay Shadow, out!" Rick went to the front door and sent him outside.
Rick trusted him enough to not go far. It was just that when he wanted back in he was going to have muddy paws. That meant getting him back inside through the back door where his Arctic entry was located. Everyone's boots and coats were usually stored there.
- :: - ::: - :: -
"Esposito, Ryan, my office." Roy retreated around his desk and sat down.
"Captain?" Espo questioned him.
"As you know Beckett went on vacation and selected an Alaskan cruise. I've learned that she went on a shore excursion that involved a helicopter trip. It crashed." Roy wasn't one to beat around the bush. He believed in ripping the Band-Aid off.
"Dios mío!" Espo's jaw dropped and looked between Roy and his partner.
"Beckett survived but she's badly injured. Everyone else, including a little 5-year-old girl, didn't make it." That was the part that hit Roy a little too close to home. He had his own two daughters at home.
"Shit!" Ryan knew just what Jenny was going to think of this information.
"She was rescued and is being cared for. However, his place is deep in the Alaskan wilderness and presently that area is under a major snow storm. As I understand it the snow will simply melt for now and turn his several miles of trail to his place to a muddy mess. The only way in or out is by either parachute or quad. No 4x4 would ever make it and there are too many trees for a helicopter to land," Roy explained.
"I volunteer to repel down and pick her up and winch her back up." Espo had seen something just like this during the Gulf war. "Coast Guard chopper."
"Beckett has already been rescued so unless you want to foot the bill to rent their chopper and pay the crew for their time, she gets to stay where she is.
"I'm also told that reaching him or him getting her out will not happen until the ground freezes and there's enough snow and or ice to use a snowmobile. As a result I've requested a replacement. Beckett may not be back for months.
Roy had a request from her dad. "I also have a job for you two. Purely voluntary."
"Name it!" Espo would do it whatever it was.
"I need you two to help Beckett's dad pack up her apartment and put everything in storage. She can't pay the bills since she's not here and won't be for a while."
Ryan volunteered himself and his partner. "Espo and I will do it! And I'll get Jenny to help."
"I'll get Lanie to help, too. She'll be all packed up in no time," Espo assured him.
Roy held out a paper. "Her dad's number. Coordinate with him. Tell me when and if I can I'll help or I'll get Evelyn, our girls, and Evan to help. Let her dad rent a truck and tell you where it all goes.
"Dismissed." Roy was done with these two. Now he just needed to worry about who he was going to get for a temporary replacement.
"Helicopter crash?" Espo said to his partner as they retreated to their desks in shock.
"She's alive, Javi." Kevin found that as the good part of this. "Lanie's going to freak."
"Knowing Lanie she'll find a way to parachute in so she can take care of her personally," Espo joked since it made him feel better.