CHAPTER FIVE
Jackson Hunt came up behind the crying Kate. He put his hand on her shoulder as he looked down onto Castle's face.
"How do you feel, son?"
Castle was still a bit groggy, and his vocal chords were still uncooperative from so much time of not being used. His words came out like a rough whisper.
"I'm not sure. My head aches worse than a cheap gin hangover, and there are parts of me that hurt like hell, and others I can't feel at all." Castle was barely able to move his head.
Kate put her hand on his cheek. "Don't try to move too much. Just lay there and let yourself get accustomed to being awake."
Rick's eyes switched back and forth between Kate and Jackson. Confusion could clearly be read in those blue eyes.
"What happened?"
Hunt gave him a partial smile. "You, my boy, have been put through the ringer. I imagine the last thing you remember is coming out to see me." A weak nod answered. "Well, unfortunately you were in a large major accident while you were on your way there. You never made it."
Castle stiffly nodded. "I remember the noise of multiple collisions, and losing control of the Ferrari, but after that it's all a blank."
Hunt nodded. "That's good. It's a blessing that you were spared that pain."
Rick switched his gaze to Kate. "So where am I and why are you crying?"
"I'm crying because I love you and you were badly hurt. And as to where you are, it's a long story."
Rick looked back and forth between them. "Apparently I'm not going anywhere soon, and you know I've always liked hearing interesting stories, so who is going to fill me in."
Jackson Hunt began telling Rick where he was and what had been done to him over the past month that he'd been there. Kate would break in occasionally to fill in the picture of how she got to be there, and to reassure him that Martha and Alexis were fine.
The tag teamed story was long, and confusing for Castle, to say the least. But soon after they had reached the present, Rick only gave them a wane smile and fell back to sleep.
Kate intended to stay by Rick's side until he woke up again, but Jackson convinced her it would be better if she went home to make sure everything was going smoothly on the home front. He pointed out that Rick would be out of it for quite a while yet, but if he was awake and lucid for any length of time he would let her know.
It was a hesitant Kate Castle who finally left the repurposed abandoned warehouse.
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It had been another two weeks since Castle woke up from his coma. Kate visited several times, but there was a lot of work that Rick had to put in to get used to his new prosthetics, and the other upgrades that had been installed in his poor battered body.
He still needed to finish healing, and to learn how his new 'parts' worked, and how he would be able to utilize all the 'improvements' made to his new amalgamate body.
He also had to become as strong as he could before they could risk the surgery for the heart transplant.
During this time Martha and Alexis came back from their European travels. Alexis went back to school to catch up with her studies that she had temporally left for her hiatus. She was now, for the first time in her academic career, behind and needed to do some serious catching up.
Martha threw herself into her acting school, and managed to let that be her main concern for the foreseeable future.
Kate left them to their own devices. She had argued with herself, but in the end, she decided to keep them in the dark until Rick had the heart surgery and had recovered from that. That could take months to recover from and all during that time, Rick would still be in a critical state.
Rick had agreed that it wouldn't serve any purpose to give the family any reason to build up any false hope until things were fairly certain of a successful recovery. And they were still a ways away from that. She didn't want them to have to lose him twice, if the worse came to pass.
That's not to say that Kate spent more than a few sleepless nights over the decision. The fact that Hunt agreed with them didn't help. She felt she could handle the guilt she had over making that call. Even though Rick had agreed. Until Rick was definitely on the road to a certain level of wellness, she was going to keep the fear and the worry to herself.
If things turned out as she prayed they would, she would beg their forgiveness. If it all went sour, Martha and Alexis will continue on with their lives, and Kate would be torn up all over again.
Kate made a quick stop at the precinct to talk to the boys briefly. She told them she'd arrange another meet with them and Lanie, but she was heading into a long stretch of uncertainty so there wasn't going to be much she can tell them.
She then walked into Capt. Gates office and tendered her resignation. Gates was astounded. Kate couldn't give her captain any reason the woman would understand since Kate didn't feel she could give her the true situation. There was just too many questionable actions involved for her to share with Gates.
She knew her reasons and excuses sounded weak, but Kate said she needed the isolation to decide what way the rest of her life would go. Obviously, Kate wouldn't have to worry about money any more.
Gates told Kate to do whatever she felt she had to do, but not to lock herself into any long term decisions while she's still so emotionally vulnerable.
Kate just thanked her and left.
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It had been nearly a day and a half since she'd been to the warehouse to see Rick. She felt bad, like she was somehow letting him down by not being by his side during what must be a scary time for him. But she had things to deal with. A family, and a corporation to keep functioning.
There was quite a bit of commotion going on when she passed through that second door. There were medical people scurrying around fussing over someone standing in their midst. She guessed that someone getting all the attention was Rick.
She moved over to see what all the fuss was about.
"Kate, you're here!" He sounded excited to see her. She smiled.
"Hi." She reached out and stroked his cheek. "You seem to be pretty chipper this morning?"
"Kate, you won't believe it? These prosthetics are amazing. I don't know how they did it, but they react just like my original arm and legs did. Can you believe it?" He sounded like a child on Christmas morning.
Kate chuckled. "I'm seeing it Rick, and I can't believe it. But I am thankful."
"They are still being really careful with me as I become adapted to using the new limbs, but so far I'm assimilating to it all pretty well."
Her smile got bigger. "It's nice to see you doing so well."
"Can you believe it?" He had a big grin on his face. "I'm a freakin' cyborg!"
Kate smiled and nodded. Then when he was surrounded again by people in white, Kate slipped away and walked over to a man she knew was the lead doctor in this whole mad scientist scenario. He noticed her and gave Kate a slight smile.
"So, really, how's he doing?" Kate didn't waste time with pleasantries. In fact she didn't even remember his name. Not that she remembered him giving it.
"I have to admit, that everything is performing up to specs, better actually." He glanced over at Rick, who was doing a form of jumping jacks while several people around him were jotting notes on their clipboards
The head doctor looked back at Kate. "He's taken to the prosthetics remarkably well, and his ability coordinating the limbs is getting better by the minute. I think his willingness to accept what has happened and what has been done to him has been an enormous advantage to his progress."
Kate bit her lip. "So, ah, tell me doctor. I know that his pelvis was shattered and had to be rebuilt somehow. But, ah, how is his plumbing down there?" She blushed a deep red.
The doctor laughed. "Are you concerned about his ability to rid himself of water waste? Or is there some other concern you have?"
Kate wanted to smack the smirk off his face. "I'm concerned about everything." She glared.
He still had a grin on his face. "Well, all the x-rays we've taken over these past few weeks have shown that none of his internal organs received any damage beyond a minor bruising. We were worried about the possibility of kidney damage, but tests have shown no functional problems."
Kate was getting angrier with the smug doctor by the second. He was going to force her to ask him directly.
"What about his ability to… make love? Will he still be able to do that?"
"Well, as you know. Mr. Castle did suffer many external cuts and bruises on his torso, in the back and in front on the stomach and lower. These cuts and contusions to those muscles were significant but none were very severe and I believe that they will all heal up in time."
Kate allowed herself a bit of a smirk. "That's good to know."
The doctor nodded. "I wouldn't suggest any rigorous 'exercise' for at least a couple more weeks though. And probably nothing till after he recovers from the heart transplant." He glanced at some notes on his clipboard. "I understand that the plan is to move on to the procedure as soon as I can clear his physical health and the selected surgeon is available."
Kate just nodded. "Yeah, Hunt is taking care of that end." She clutched her hands into fists. "I understand Doctor Allezandez should be here in about a week."
The doctor raised his brow. Kate furrowed her brow. "You've heard of this doctor?"
"Oh yes." The doctor nodded. "I've heard of her."
Kate nodded. "Hunt is really high on her. Is she good?"
"She's better than good."
That made Kate feel better. "I used to know a Dr. Joshua Davidson, he was a cardiac surgeon."
"Never heard of him." The doctor shook his head. "Dr. Allezandez is magic."
That made Kate feel even more pleased. She noticed a look in the doctor's eye.
"But?" Kate added.
The doctor gave Kate a hard look. "She's not big on ethics if they get in the way of her work."
Kate wasn't surprised since Hunt was the one who was bringing her in. Kate found it interesting that this doctor whom they brought in because he wasn't exactly part of the typical brotherhood of physicians, seemed to be passing judgement.
"Kind of a kettle calling the pot black here?" Kate sarcastically tossed out.
The doctor shook his head. "Oh, I have ethics. It's just that my ethics can be modified by the money. Allezandez is only interested in the challenge."
Kate rolled her eyes. "Well she's charging us plenty for her services. So money is definitely part of the equation."
The doctor laughed. "The money is just what she calls her inconvenience fee."
Kate shook her head and walked away.
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Rick was cranky when Kate arrived that morning. It was now just over four weeks since he woke up from his enforced coma that he'd been put into. His recovery from the surgeries was going exceptionally well. He was past most of the pain, and he was able to coordinate his movements better each day.
Kate smiled as she came up next to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "So what's got you so ornery this morning?"
He gave her a quick smile, then plastered his frown back on his face. "Oh, they are all treating my like I'm made of cheap china." He waved in the direction of the few medical people still taking care of him. "They won't let me try anything. I know that I could do so much more if they'd just let me try. At the rate they've got me moving, I'll be an old man before I get out of here."
She patted his cheek. "You're already an old man." He gave her a look of horror. "But you're my old man, and I'm just fine with that."
Castle rolled his eyes. "Come see what I can do." He used his right hand to grasp hers and lead her over to some of the equipment that had been brought in for him to work out on.
He first went over to a treadmill. Kate watched as he dialed in the settings. He started out with a brisk walk, then dialed it up to a jog. Not all that different from what she used to do when she went on her morning runs.
He turned to dial to a full out run, and Kate could see that he wasn't even breaking a sweat. She watched him keep that pace for ten minutes when one of the medical staff came over and dialed to machine down. The nurse, or whatever she could be called gave Rick a stern look, then walked away.
Castle shot the departing medico a dirty look. "See what I mean, Kate. They treat me like I'm going to break."
Kate could understand his impatience. She could only imagine how she'd be if she was in his situation. She felt sorry for him. She knew he must be going crazy being cooped up in this old renovated warehouse, but he hadn't been given the okay yet for the next step. And that step would knock him out of commission for several weeks if not months.
He needed to be in the best shape he could be in before they took that last step.
Rick continued to show off for Kate. He was able to skip rope so quickly that the rope just blurred. He also did a few jumps for her which actually scared Kate. He did a vertical jump that was nearly twenty feet, and a standing horizontal jump of around fifty feet.
Of course those little incidents of showboating for her drew the ire of the people in the white jackets.
Castle looked around, and when the staff wasn't looking, he took Kate by the hand and led her over to the far wall. He was grinning as he stood in front of a heavy gauged metal flange that had been bolted to the wall.
"Watch this." He smirked, then grabbed the piece of metal with his left hand and bent it flat against the wall.
"Impressive." Kate looked around. "But are you supposed to be doing stuff like that yet?"
Castle grimaced. "If it was up to them, I won't get out of here before Christmas."
Kate led him over to a couple of folding chairs. She sat down and indicated that he should sit down next to her.
He cocked his head and captured her eyes with his. "What's wrong, Kate?"
She took his right hand in hers. "How are you feeling?"
He shrugged. "Considering everything, I feel pretty good. I don't feel my legs, or my left arm like I would if they were my own. But I do have some sort of ghost feeling down there. I've gotten to the point where I don't have to look at them to know what I'm doing with them." He shrugged again. "It's like it's instinctual."
Kate nodded. "That's good. But you do know that you're not done yet, right? You still have one more big operation to undergo, and that's not going to be easy."
He stared at the floor. "Oh I'm quite aware of what's next. It was something that Hunt and I spoke about several times before the accident ever happened."
Kate clasped her hands in front of her. "I have to ask. How do you feel about that?"
He looked at her somewhat puzzled. "What do you mean?"
She clenched her fists. "I mean, Hunt, your father is volunteering to die so you can have his heart. Doesn't that bother you?"
Castle stared at the floor again. "It did somewhat at first. But we talked about it. And do you know what?"
Kate shook her head. "No, what?"
"I think he needs to do this."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
He reached over and took her hand in his again. "I was conceived in a moment of passion, and perhaps even a flash of real love. But I was never supposed to be. It had never crossed his mind that his actions that night might culminate in a child. He was in no position to be a father, even if he ever wanted to be one."
Castle stared out across the room. "He was a government agent. His life was service to his country and nothing else was more important, not even the family he left behind. It was years before he even knew that he'd fathered a child. But that didn't matter. He had his job to do, and we were an unfortunate mishap along the way."
"That may be true, but once he knew about you, he kept an eye on you and Martha. He was there when you needed him to bring Alexis back." Kate felt a bit odd arguing in Jackson's behalf.
"Kate," Rick chuckled. "It was his fault that Alexis was kidnapped in the first place."
She frowned. "I know, but still…"
"Look, I'm not saying that I'm not grateful for his help in getting Alexis back, but really there wouldn't have been a need if not for him."
Castle huffed. "And the other time he came into our lives, was just to use us to locate that rogue agent so he could assassinate him right in front of me."
Kate nodded slowly. "I know, but he is your father."
Rick laughed. "I can't say I've ever heard you stick up for him so much. You always felt that he was a blight on my… on our lives. You never liked him."
Kate pursed her lips. "And I still can't say I actually like him. He's still who he always was. But he set all this up for you, and is giving himself up to allow you to live."
"As I would for you or Alexis. As any parent, or spouse would for the one they love more than themselves." Castle took in a long breath. "That's why I think he needs to do this."
Kate just stares at him.
"This is his chance to be the parent he was never able to be. In this one last grand gesture, he's telling me that's he's sorry that he was never there for me, but he does love me. In whatever manner he can love."
Kate still frowned. "So this is just some grand gesture to make up for all the years of neglect, of not ever being around. Not being around when Martha could have really used the help raising you?"
Rick shook his head. "I don't think it's like that. He's a proud man, and he's a man who has had to do terrible things throughout his life to protect his country. His duty to his country had always come first, but that didn't mean he didn't wish he could have had some of what most families had.
Kate shook her head. "So now you're saying you feel sorry for him?"
Rick shook his head. "No, it was a choice he chose. One that he freely embraced even after knowing about mother and me. But I do think that he sees this as his chance, the last and only chance where he will be able to tell me that he does love me. That he loves his…son."
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A/N: See, Hunt's not such a bad guy is he.
All Readers are Appreciated, Review if you wish
