an: i wrote a fluff(ish) fic yesterday, have a read if you like...it's labelled 'balance'
midnight update + no auto-correct, apologies for errors. x
The door slammed shut behind the blonde, her arms crossed in front of her as she surveyed the scene playing out in front of her. Kate and Gina both turned at the sound of the voice of the other woman who'd strode into the room. Kate reacted immediately; her posture slackening and face softening once her eyes connected with the familar blue.
"Maddie?" Kate's eyebrows creased together in confusion.
What is she even doing here? Her final class of the day ended like 2 hours ago.
Gina moved her hand from her cheek; where it was caressing the bruises (barely) scattering across her face. Her attempts at trying to hide her shock and repugnance at being stood up to by one of Rick's special "students", had actually rocked her to the core - though she'd never admit that. Tucking her hands into the front pockets of her dark blue suitpants, Gina's eyes never left Kate as the two students looked at each other.
Gina's phone started to ring - which caused Kate and Maddie's eyes to flick to her. Kate's heart pumping a million times faster, anxiety crawling up her chest and throat, her vision blurring as she looked from the phone to Gina.
Bending down, Gina picked up her brick-like NOKIA phone off the floor that had landed itself near the edge of Rick's desk. "I have to go, Kate. We'll talk about this later." Before she answered the call in a brisk, clipped tone.
"No, we won't." Kate called to Gina's retreating back.
Kate didn't know if she had heard her and she honestly didn't care at this moment. She just wanted her to be as far away from Gina as humanly possible.
As soon as the door shut behind her, Maddie gripped Kate's shoulders and squeezed them gently. "What the hell happened, Becks?" She asked, one eyebrow raised.
Kate shook her head, she didn't even know herself what had happened. Or why. Gina had never been that horrid before...or was I just blinded? With a sigh, Kate's eyes flicked to Maddie's, forcing a tenative smile on her rosy lips.
"I...I It was nothing, Mads. Honestly. Don't worry about it." Kate shrugged her hands off by rolling her shoulders backwards.
Maddie clucked her tongue, she'd known Kate a long time and this was not okay. Kate wasn't okay. But she wouldn't press on because it would just get worse than what it was and to be perfectly honest...she had no idea what was wrong in the first place.
Wrapping an arm around Kate's neck she tried a different approach. Tapping her finger against Kate's nose, Maddie poked her tongue out. "Let's have a couple beers and you can tell me all about that keg stand you did while I was away in LA."
Kate shook her head, a wide smile gracing her features at her friends ability to understand her without her needing to say so many words. She's like the sister I never had. "Only if you tell me about the hot med student you hooked up with!"
Maddie winked at her, clucking her tongue as she pushed open the office door once again, this time leaving the room. "Deal."
It had been almost a month since the accident and things were relatively back to normal, although not so much. Alexis had been under 24 hour watch for the last few weeks and had it not been for the constant reassurances from his sources in the NYPD, his contacts in the CIA and the FBI that his daughter was indeed safe - and not the target of any kind of psychopath or serial murderer that may or may not even exist - he relented, somewhat. Compromising and installing multiple security cameras throughout his home, as well as body guards at the door to his loft and the main entrance to the apartment complex. Of course, they knew that no one could reason with a man who feared for his child's life.
Rick looked at his watch for what must be the hundredth time in ten minutes. Okay. So not the hundredth but it certaintly felt like it. It also felt like it'd been a hundred hours at the same time, too. He didn't know what he'd been thinking - he hadn't, he knows that. But he just thought that by taking a chance, maybe - maybe it'd pay off this time.
Before he could dwell on lost causes, or think himself into a bad mood, Rick heard a resounding crash of metal, plastic...containers? and ... yep, that was definitely a slosh of wine being spilled somewhere. His mother was in the kitchen. He didn't know why he even was surprised. With a groan, Rick stood up from where he'd been doing a pretty good rendition of a potato and followed the noise into the kitchen.
Martha was standing over the stovetop, a glass of red wine in one hand, a spatula in the other as she surveyed the pancakes in the pan in front of her. "Mother, back away from the stove with your hands held up and no one will be charged with negligent homicide." He quipped, with a light chuckle.
To which his mother returned, her voice wavering, shaking slightly. Rick's smile wiped off his face at the tone of his mother's mood, concern evident from his rough tone. "Are you okay?" He moved to stand behind her, gently squeezing the back of her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
"I-I was just making Alexis some pancakes...you know the ones, the ones with the chocolate chip and-" Martha inwardly shook her head in distress, placing the spatula down as a few more tears squeezed from the creases at the corners of her eyes and down her pale face "I don't even know how you make them..." He wrapped one arm around his mother's shoulders as she cradled her face into warm expanse his wide chest.
He held her close to him as much for his comfort as it was for hers, pressing a kiss to her cheek and taking the spatula from her shaking hands. "She's nearly back to 100% mother, this is Alexis we're talking about. She's a Castle, we take everything in stride." He smiled softly, "She's even ahead of recovery time." He added.
"I know I know. I caught her trying to walk without her crutches earlier today." Martha whispered, just remembering that the young girl was only in the other room.
A small grin crossed Rick's lips as he imagined his little girl determined, her brow wrinkling and her tongue sticking out in concentration. "I knew telling her that story about how she skipped crawling was going to bite me in the ass one day." He joked, turning to plate up his mothers 'masterpiece' pancakes and taking a bite from one of the corners.
Coughing eratically and widening his eyes at Martha, she looked at him curiously, her eyebrow hitched up towards her hair line.
"What?" she asked, concerned.
She had relatively calmed down and was now tracing the brim of her wine glass with her the edge of her index finger after taking a large swig of the fruity concoction.
"Are you trying to kill everyone with chocolate?" He asked, swallowing hardly, "And clumps of flour?" Rick spluttered.
"There is no such thing as too much chocolate, darling. Or wine."
Castle shook his head, muttering under his breath about 'crazed woman' and 'boundaries' before pouring the uncooked batch of pancake mixture into the disposal unit down the sink.
2 patients had died on Kate in the last 12 hours. She was exhausted. Physically and emotionally exhausted. So much had unravelled over the past couple of weeks that she had started smoking again. It wasn't constantly or a habit - yet, sure she had smoked a bit during highschool but that was to piss her parents off more than anything. These days... it seemed to be the only thing that was able to calm her down. And it wasn't that she even liked doing it. Kate hated it - she was a doctor for Pete's sake! She knew what it was doing to her, but when her hands are shaking so badly and her yoga breathing techniques aren't working for her - she felt like she was out of options. This was quick and easy and right now the short term was the only thing on her mind: results, work, Emma. (CASTLE!) Long term - she couldn't possibly set a toe in that thought burning hot sandpit.
Coughing harshly, through the hazy remnants of smoke that had only moments ago been clogging up her throat. Kate leaned backwards, resting her hands against the cement, finger nails scraping the corner aimlessly. She watched the grey smoke clouds unravel loose shapes around each other as they climbed higher and higher above the building structure.
A shadow appeared over her, she didn't need to turn her head to know who it was, the familiarity of the shadow covering her in darkness briefly before settling on the ledge beside her. A gust of wind ruffled Kate's deep blue scrubs, her white coat lifting and twisting to the left side of her body.
"Haven't seen you very much these last few weeks, Kate." Lanie commented.
The darker woman to her right broke off a piece of the custard filled chocolate donut she had been holding, the thick gold catching the edge of her pinky finger. Kate turned her head to survey her friend, looking down at the 2 cups of styrofoam coffee that was set down in between them. How did she even know?
"Lanes, how did you know I was up here?" Kate asked her, her brow wrinkled in curiosity.
Picking up one of the coffees, Lanie laughed throatily, her eyes turning to look at city's buildings and landscapes. The sun was just starting to rise up from behind a particular dark grey cloud, purple and orange shades smudged together across the sky. Kate watched Lanie closely, her own hands now clasping the other styrofoam cup and holding it on top of her thighs.
"Do you remember when Emma turned four?"
Do I remember when- what?
"Yeah...of course I do." Kate nodded, although confused, she knew that Lanie had to be going somewhere with this.
Taking a sip of her coffee to watch down the chocolate syrup coating the inside of her throat, the liquid travelling along her and down her throat; warming her from the inside out. "No, tell me what happened." Lanie prodded her, tilting her head to the side.
Taking her eyes off of her friend, Kate moved her gaze to her hands; fingers toying with the edge of the lid, pressing the plastic buttons inward as her mind took a trip down memory lane. "She had caught the chicken poccs a few days earlier..."Kate started, her teeth biting down on the inside of her cheek. "I tried to make her birthday as normal as possible but she couldn't even eat the birthday cake that I brought in for her." She let out a soft exhalation, her shoulders beginning to tense from the memory, the muscles at the base of her neck throbbing painfully.
Lanie nodded a small smile spreading across her rose coloured lips, turning her body to the left so that she could face Kate more comfortably, pulling her right leg infront of her to settle it across the concrete ledge. "I couldn't protect her from it. I had no power I-" She stopped, her eyes cutting to Lanie's.
"I met you up here that day." Kate blurted out, realization dawning on her.
A small smile rested on Lanie's face when Kate's lips rushed out those words, her head nodding twice in acknowledgement. "It was my first day here," She confirmed.
"You stayed with me for hours...told me that I had to keep faith. That everything-"
"-everything that was to happen was already set in motion. Being her mother... there is only so much that you can do."
Lukewarm tears started to prick and sting at her eyes, Kate closed them just as they fell onto her cheeks and colaesced toward her chin. With her eyes still closed, she reached out and grasped Lanie's hands with one of her own and squeezed them tightly. Her throat suddenly felt tight and constricted, her breathing coming in shallow gasps.
"You saved my sanity that day."