"OK. So, what you are trying to say; what you have been trying to say for the last 10 minutes is that Richard Castle, our Richard Castle, is deaf?"
"Uh."Beckett, stared at Lanie Parish over the corpse the Medical Examiner was hovering next to. "Uh, um. How did you-?"
"Girl, how many times do I have to say it: I can read you like a book. And when it comes to Castle, it's always the same book." She looked over the top of her safety glasses at Kate. Kate blinked back, and gripped the edge of the empty autopsy table she was sitting on.
"I have a book?"
"You have a book." Lanie repeated still appearing very calm in the wake of what she had just worked out from Kate's stuttered attempts to get some help from her friend without betraying Castle's secret. Lanie was amazing. And evidently Kate needed a new poker face. "And as for Rick Castle being deaf: I am not buying that one. Is it April, because I am not getting fooled by something so -"
"Lanie, I am not playing April fool's. He's deaf. Well, not totally. A bit."
"A bit? Isn't that like being a bit pregnant?"
"We raided a store house of Baxter's this morning. It got a little ugly and Castle got into a fight with our suspect before he got the drop on me. It was bad Lanie. The guy was huge. And the medics, the hospital, they found his hearing aids." Lanie stared at her, hard, and Kate found herself fidgeting. "And now, now I have to tell Captain Montgomery. There's going to be fall out. And-"
"Woah, woah. Slow down. Back up." Lanie waved her scalpel over the body in front of her. "Richard Castle is deaf? Since when?"
"Since he was a kid apparently, I met his mother at the hospital, but that isn't the -"
"Hold on." Lanie interrupted again. "Apparently? What do you mean apparently? Kate have you talked to him about this? You did talk to him about it, right?"
"Well, no, not exactly. Don't look at me like that. I was mad. I was in shock. Lanie he was almost killed because he couldn't hear Ryan and Espo warning him about the second guy." Oh hell, she hadn't talked to him about it. Or about anything. She'd gone in mad, warned him off and left.
"OK, so let me get this straight. Castle got into a fight, trying to protect you; he was injured enough to need medical attention and this bombshell blew up in his face; and then you got mad that he'd kept this secret from you, so you read him the riot act in his sick bed and left him at the hospital."
"He lied to me Lanie-"
"And since when is that new? Man edits life story to impress woman wouldn't sell any papers. It happens every day."
"Not like this." Kate was too caught up to make her usual rebuttal against the writer's feelings for her. "He could have been killed."
"And you get to kick his butt for that." Lanie said. "Look, Kate, you've had a shock. Hell, I am only calm now because it hasn't hit yet. And yeah, you have to tell the Captain. Javi, Ryan: they have to know too. But," Lanie prompted.
"I have to talk to Castle." She finished and Lanie nodded. "Ooh Lanie." Kate dropped her head into her hands. "I screwed up."
"Yeah, but lucky for you, that man is crazy about you. He'd forgive you for just about anything. And the same goes for you."
"Lanie!"
"What? I'm only saying what everyone else can see. The guy just got beat up trying to protect you. And you come down here, mad as hell that he might have been killed. Only one reason why you're down here talking to me, trying to find a way around this whole mess, and not up there making calls to the Captain to get writer boy cut out of your life."
The M.E. stared at her, challenging her to respond. Kate stared back, and - her phone suddenly rang. Oh thank god! She fished it from her pocket, looked at the screen and saw Ryan's name flashing. She took a deep breath. Before coming down to see Lanie she had left Espo and Ryan to process Baxter, the guy that Castle had fought, as he was transferred from the hospital to the 12th for interview. The perp had come out of the fight much better than Castle had, but as Espo reported it: "only because he has a head like a block of concrete". She licked her lips and pressed her ear to the cell. "Beckett."
"Um, boss you need to get back here."
"What's going on?" She sat up suddenly at Ryan's strained tone. Lanie's eyes widened, watching Kate.
"Uh, it's Castle. Here's here."
"What? He's supposed to be in the hospital." Kate jumped off the autopsy table and Lanie had to take a hasty step back. Kate barely registered her.
"Yeah, well, if it means anything it looks like he still should be." Ryan said. And then there was a crashing noise, and something that sounded like a loud protest.
"What was that?" She barked into the cell.
"Uh, just get up here."
"On my way." She thumbed the red icon and killed the call, bewildered. "Castle's busted himself out of hospital. He's upstairs."
"I put that much together. Let me get my bag, I'm coming with."
CastleCastleCastleCastleCastle
When Kate reached the bullpen, it seemed to be bustling around as usual, but there was something in the air that didn't feel right. She looked around, noting the repeated looks people kept flashing at the closed break room door. Then at her. Then back to the door again. It didn't take a genius to figure out why. Then Ryan suddenly appeared at her shoulder and indicated with a jerk of his chin.
"He's in there." He said. "We wanted to take him back to the hospital, but he's insisting he won't leave without seeing you first." He gave a helpless half shrug and pushed the door open.
"Dude, don't make me make you. Sit the fuck down!" Espo almost yelled as they entered the room. Castle was perched on a stool, splinted arm braced on the table, with Detective Esposito standing over him, arms crossed. Beckett took the opportunity to scan him head to do with a practiced eye for detail. And he looked like hell. Castle had evidently found his coat somewhere at the hospital, but otherwise he was wearing green scrubs and badly fitting white runners. And his face, spectacularly bruised and battered down the left side, was paler than she ever remembered seeing it. He looked like a wax model of himself. A sweating, utterly spent wax model. Restraining the sudden urge to go to him, she met his gaze and found herself lost for words. She recognized that look and it hit her like a physical blow. It was the sort of battered stoicism that hollowed out the eyes of family members of victims of crime. The ones who knew that they had just lost everything, but were grimly determined to see it through to the end. Until justice was served. To see it in Castle's eyes threw her completely and she stalled to a halt inside the door.
She knew why he was here.
"Oh my god!" Lanie's eye was on the physical, as usual, and she immediately bustled passed Kate's shoulder to plant herself right in front of the writer. "Castle!" He turned to look at her. "What the hell were you thinking? Did you run all the way here? Hold still."
"Ow! Did you just pinch me?" He yelped as the M.E. squeezed a patch of skin on the back of his hand, and examined its reaction.
"Dehydrated." She muttered, ignoring him in favour of shining her torch in his eyes, feeling for a pulse on his unstrapped wrist. "When was the last time you ate or drank anything?" Again she didn't wait for an answer. "Well, don't just stand there Javier: get the man a drink of water. Ryan go get him something to eat. Come on, come on." The two men went to work in the tiny room. The fridge door opened and slammed shut.
And Kate's phone rang. She pulled the cell free from her pocket and answered it without looking at the caller I.D. Her gaze was locked on Castle.
"Beckett."
"Kate?" The sound of the panicked voice was like an electric shock and Beckett felt herself suddenly unfreeze. In front of her, Espo had returned with a coffee cup of water and Lanie was watching Castle, steely eyed, as he drank it.
"Oh, Martha." Her exclamation drew Castle's attention with a snap.
"Richard has disappeared from the hospital. I thought I would phone you before I send out for the marines. Is he-?"
"Yes, Martha, he's here."
"Oh thank god." she said. Then her voice hardened. "Put him on would you Katherine?"
"Castle. Your Mom would like a word." She said, handing the phone over. She was relieved to see that he still had it in him to look panicked.
"Mother, I- Yes. Yes. I had to - No. No. I didn't - OK, ouch! OK. Fair point. Well, I will explain it to them. Yes. Oh now? No no no no. Mom- Mo- Hello Doctor. Yes. Yes. No, I know it wasn't a - Well. I- hell- Ye- I - breakin- up- tunnel- " He thumbed the icon to end the call. "I'm a dead man. Lanie can I live with you?" Lanie only pursed her lips.
"Castle what were you thinking coming down here?" Kate said, and felt her voice had lost all of its power. She knew why he was here, but she couldn't help asking. The detective in her was always looking for confirmation, even of the obvious.
"I had to." He looked at her pointedly, all glibness gone. "You were right, Kate, I should have told you earlier. But I didn't. I am sorry. I am so sorry. And I am not going to sit back and let you take all the heat for my decision."
"What decision?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah, what decision?" Espo echoed.
"We should go." Lanie, who had been scrutinising both Castle and Kate, suddenly spoke.
"No. Lanie. No. Stay. All of you." Castle sounded as if each word was being torn out from his chest, as if it was almost too much to get each one out. He stalled on the next word and Kate took her chance.
"No. Castle you don't have to do this. You don't. You and I, we need to talk-"
"No, it's ok." He said, and the naked appeal in his face was unmistakable: please let me do this, let me make it right. "They need to know. Gina's been fielding calls all morning. Everyone is going to know by the end of the day." He turned to look at everyone there; each one in turn, as if he was memorising their faces. She watched him take a deep breath, wince and then: "I'm deaf."
End
O.K. Crisis of confidence happening here. I am sorry this chapter was so short. I keep getting interrupted by stuff happening IRL, so I thought I would put it out there while I could. The next chapter is in the works (next weekend is likely), but I am not at all confident about this one. Please let me know what you think? Still interested in reading more? Comments? Criticism? Help!