Short but I'm trying to bring all the unfinished stuff current so just bear with me.

OM

Rest & Recuperation
Chapter 7

29 Palms Marine Hospital

"He has a what?" She was stunned and certain she'd misunderstood what her friend had said. 'People don't live with holes in their hearts – oh, God, no!'

"He has a hole in his heart. It's been repaired and that's the large bandage on his sternum but he can't get overly excited nor can he just bounce around like we know our boy is prone to do."

"He's not going to die, is he, Lanie? You'd tell me if it was - "

"Kate, they wouldn't be transferring him if he were in critical condition so just calm down. Fear is infectious and if Castle senses your fear, even subconsciously, it'll add stress and delay his recovery. I'm serious here, Kate Beckett. PMA all the way."

"PMA?"

"Positive Mental Attitude. Now, let's go see the man who lived through a plane crash. I swear the man would fall into a vat of fecal matter and emerge clean as a whistle."

"He's asleep, Lanie. He was in pain and couldn't even push the damned button for relief because of his casts. He's helpless without someone with him. I wasn't kidding when I said I owe Natalie big time."

"You don't owe me squat, Beckett." Natalie had come back to the room to say her goodbyes. She needed to get home to David.

"Natalie, I do so. If you hadn't been here with Castle – "

"You owe that man in that hospital bed an apology of epic proportions. He's there because of you and your damned temper and distrust. Why didn't you answer his calls? Why didn't you let him explain?"

"I was angry and hurt. You don't know what it sounded like. You answered his phone late at night…"

"Bull! We'd just got back from shopping for school clothes for my son. Castle helped me out. I had no idea what I was doing. He'd been up since 4am and it was all he could do to make it back to his room and crash on a chair."

"I didn't consider the time difference. I screwed up but you said – "

"I meant he was all guy. He hit it off with my son and they both hated the damned mall. That's all I meant. He doesn't 'shop'. All this damned drama could have been avoided if you'd just acted a little less like a cop and a little more like a woman in love. Why did it take an act of God to get you to realize – never mind. I should just keep my big mouth shut. I have to head on home. I have a son who needs me and you're finally here where you belong. I just came to say goodbye to him but he's asleep."

"Natalie – " Kate was appalled. She had screwed up but hadn't wanted to share it with the entire world but she'd gotten loud and Natalie hadn't held back one bit.

"Let her go, Kate. I'll walk her out to the parking lot and calm her down. It's been a long day for her, too, and she has to drive all the way back to L.A. Maybe she can take your room since I doubt you'll leave Castle. I'll talk to her."

Lanie followed Natalie out the door and stood in front of her Mustang, stopping her from leaving the lot. She could see through the windshield that Natalie Rhodes was in tears. She walked over to the car and made 'roll down the window' motions.

"Look. I know you're tired and emotional strung out. Why don't you take one of our rooms at the motel and rest? You definitely don't want to drive as upset as you are. You have a son, right? Well, he needs his mom alive, not in some ditch, dead because she fell asleep at the wheel."

"I can't, Lanie. I have to get back to my son. He's so upset about Rick's accident. The guy made such a hit with my son. He hasn't had a man in his life. I don't bring guys home. Hell, that's all image for the studio. I'm a single mom with a son. Castle took us out for pizza before hitting the mall. I needed advice on school clothes. David starts first grade and I didn't want him dressed funny, y'know? Rick was so cool with David."

"He's an amazing father. You never met Alexis. Little Castle is smart, articulate and witty and nice, just like her dad. He raised her alone, too. A single dad. There're some interesting parallels between you two. His mom's an actress – Martha Rogers – and she raised Rick like you're raising your son."

"His mom is Martha Rogers? Wow! I know her."

"Then you probably know Alexis' mother, Meredith Rogers? The vamp slut – " Lanie hated Meredith from their one and only meeting.

Natalie started to laugh. "Vamp slut! I love it. And I hate her with a passion normally reserved for people who torture small animals. He was married to that…words fail me. I thought he had better taste but then again, he was engaged to Beckett."

"IS engaged, Natalie. This was all just a horrible misunderstanding, that's all. Normally, they'd have made up in a few hours but with the plane crash, they didn't have the chance."

"You can't marry someone you don't trust, Lanie. You know that. I know that. Castle knows that she doesn't trust him. That's why I'll bet you $20 that he calls it off. She hurt him, Lanie. Don't look for him to come crawling back. A thing like this, a life-changing thing, it makes you think and he's already told me how angry he is with her."

Lanie was torn between hearing the truth about her friend and loyalty to her.

"Give them time, Natalie. That's all they'll need. This thing with his heart might turn out to be a Godsend. It'll make her think about what she's done and maybe they'll solve the trust issue. We appreciate what you've done but I think your son needs you so don't let me keep you."

She turned and walked quickly back to the hospital. She needed to talk with Rick's physician and get the specifics from a fellow professional, not the generalities she knew that Natalie had pass on to them. She doubted that the doctor would have passed on specifics about after-care to someone not responsible for his patient after discharge.