Castle had just returned from touching base with Gates and the team when Dr. Adderley stepped into the room. He'd wanted the opportunity to tell Kate all that he'd learned, but that'd have to wait. There were more urgent matters to attend to.

"I apologize for the wait, Mr. and Mrs. Castle," Adderley announced as he breezed into the room. Castle made his way to Kate's side and held her hand. His palm was sweaty, her grip was too tight, but neither noticed.

The doctor read over the paperwork before he addressed the couple, nodding and humming as he reviewed the results.

"Well," he started and Kate was sure the anticipation was going to kill her, she tightened her grip on Castle's hand who yelped at the added pressure.

"Sorry," she whispered in apology.

"I've got good news for you two." They both let out the breath neither was aware they were holding.

"Your toxicology report has come back clean, Mrs. Castle. There are no traces of any drugs in your system. And at this time, I'm happy to report there appears to be no indication of negative side effects to yourself or to the fetus."

"At this time, but you can't be sure?" Castle questioned, the apprehension creeping back into his voice.

"Nothing is one hundred percent guaranteed, Mr. Castle. But, in my professional opinion you two should be just fine," he stated addressing Kate directly. "I would like to keep you overnight as a precaution, and I would recommend you follow up with your doctor when you get back home, they may want to keep a closer eye on you given your age and past trauma."

For once Kate did not balk at the idea of being hospitalized. She could be good, if it ensured her baby would stay healthy.

"These cuts seem shallow, Mrs. Castle. " The Dr. stated as he examined her wrist. "But, regardless, I'd like to have the nurse come in and take care of those for you before we take you back to your room."

"Ok." Kate agreed. In the course of everything that had happened she had forgotten about the cuts from the zip ties. They were starting to sting now.

"And Mr. Castle, I was made aware that you have a head injury." The doctor stated now focusing his attention on Rick.

"He was unconscious for a long time," Kate added.

"I'm fine," Castle argued.

"Let me be the judge of that." He instructed Caste to sit on the chair and then proceed to prod and probe the wound on his head. "Will get this cleaned out too, should be fine. Can you look my way please?" He asked flashing a light in Rick's eyes. "Follow the light please." Castle did as the Dr. instructed. Satisfied, the doctor clicked off his pen light and made a notation in his chart.

"You don't appear to have a concussion. I assume you were planning on spending the night with Mrs. Castle here in the hospital." It was a statement not a question.

"Yes."

"Good, I'll make it a double room then. It wouldn't hurt to keep you under observation as well. The nurse will by shortly to take care of those wounds. And then someone will bring you to your room."

"Thank you, Dr.," they echoed.

"My pleasure. But I truly hope not to see you guys here again after this visit," the doctor chuckled patting Castle on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, Dr." A young nurse poked her head through the door. "There are some people outside who would like to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Castle."

"Thank you, Judy. They'll have to wait a bit longer. Can you please clean and bandage Mr. Castle's head wound and Mrs. Castle's wrist?"

"Of course, Dr."

"Good, I leave you both in capable hands. I'll be by later to check on you. In the meantime, if you need anything or feel ill, let one of the nurses know immediately. They'll page me."

The doctor exited the room and the nurse got to work as she was instructed. "Someone should be here shortly to take you to your room. I believe those people are still waiting outside. Should I direct them back?" she asked when finished.

"Can you give us a little bit of time before you do so?" Castle requested. He suspected the police were chomping at the bit to get their statements but he wanted the opportunity to consult with Kate. He was not looking forward to having this conversation with her.

"Of course," Nurse Judy agreed. But she seemed to hesitate. Castle suspected she wanted to ask them something.

"Is there something else, Nurse Judy?

"No sir, Mr. Castle. I was just wondering. It's just… would you mind signing something for me? I'm a big fan. Of both of you," she stated nervously rubbing her hands together. "Could I get your autograph?"

"Of course, it would be my pleasure," Castle agreed. "I don't suppose you have one of my books lying around for me to sign." The nurse nodded dejectedly. "That's okay. Why don't you give me your contact details and I'll have my publicist send you a signed copy. Will that do?"

"Oh, Mr. Castle, that would be fantastic. Would it be possible for Mrs. Castle to sign it too? She is the inspiration for Nikki Heat right?"

"That she is, Judy." Castle agreed looking at Kate who seemed a little take back by the request. "I don't think that will be a problem, right Kate."

"Not a problem."

"Oh, thank you, thank you both," she stammered, jotting down her contact information on a slip from her memo pad and handing it over to Castle. She had a definite skip to her step as she exited the room.

"You made that girl's day, Castle."

"Correction, we made that girl's day. She wanted both our autographs."

"I guess," Kate concurred, jumping off the examination table and walking up to Castle. After so many years as partners, she was used to his fans coming up to them. This wasn't the first time she had been asked for her autograph, but it never got any easier for her to accept. In her opinion, Castle was the craftsman, she was just the lowly detective who had captured his imagination.

"I was so scared, Castle," she admitted. He stood gathering her into his arms.

"Me too," he agreed kissing the top of her head. "But you heard the doctor, everything's going to be fine. Baby's healthy, you're healthy. And apart from a nasty bump, I'm good too."

"Thank god you have a hard head, literally," Kate joked. She reached up on her toes and brushed a kiss to his lips. "I love you," she whispered. "I love you too." He knew he only had a couple of minutes, before the cops came in and he needed to tell her all that he had learned.

"Yeah, listen, Kate, the cops will be here soon," Castle began in a serious tone. "And before we talk to them, there're somethings you should know." He stepped back from her, dropping his arms and trying to put some distance between them. This was not going to be an easy conversation. He drew his hand through his hair, gathering his thoughts before he continued. "Prior to Flynn and his sidekicks barging into our room, I was talking to Gates and the boys. They were looking for you," he began. Kate had no idea where Castle was going with this, but she had feeling she wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"Ok. What did they want?"

"You were right. Vikram Singh was with the AG, a technical analyst out of the same office you worked at."

"I've never heard of him before."

"That's because he started about a year after you left. His body was recently discovered. He had been murdered. It appears Ryan's call to your old AG's office, put them on alert. They started digging into Vikram's work, putting pieces together."

"And? I don't' even know Vikram. What's all of this got to do with me?" Kate interrupted before Castle could continue.

"I'm getting to that. Kate, Vikram isn't the only victim. Mc Cord, Hendricks and three other people from your team were recently killed. The Feds think you were next and that Vikram was trying to warn you." Kate let out a shocked breath and moved back to lean against the examination table. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"I still don't understand. I haven't kept in touch with any one from the office. "

"They found a redacted document amongst Vikram's things which contained information about Bracken and known associates. That document made reference to LokSat."

"Castle, you and I didn't even known about LokSat until Rita told us about them a couple of days ago. I don't know how this all ties back to me or why LokSat would come after us now. I thought we were safe, that we were off their radar."

Rick took a deep breath. What he had to say next, would hurt her. But there was no way around it. She had to know the truth. He just hoped she wouldn't revert to her old ways and try to lick her wounds alone. But, no, that wasn't fair to her. He needed to give her more credit. She'd changed. They both had. If anything, recent events had taught them they were better together. He needed to trust she'd remember that.

"The document had the results of a search you initiated," he blurted ripping off the bandage.

"Oh my god," Kate gasped at the implications. "I killed them." She slid down to the floor.

"No, Kate. LokSat killed them." Castle argued kneeling next to her.

"Yes, but they're dead, because of something I initiated. How could I have been so stupid, so selfish? I should have known better," she insisted.

"You couldn't have known."

"Excuse me." There was a gentle tap on the door as a young looking attendant entered the room. He looked at the couple on the floor quizzically. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes," Castle stated not offering an explanation for their current location. He rose and extended his hand to Kate offering to help her up off the floor. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to tug her up. The symbolism was not lost on them. If she allowed it, he would always be around to help.

"Your room is ready. If you follow me, I can take you to it." The orderly announced cheerfully oblivious of the serious conversation that he had just interrupted.

"Thank you," Castle responded and nodded for Kate to follow. They would continue this conversation in the privacy of their room.