Chapter 3
Rick was holding Kate's phone. He was mesmerized by something on the screen, completely oblivious that Kate had just entered. Kate took in the sight of her husband, his already graying temples were spreading up through his chestnut brown hair. The crow's feet at the corners of his eyes had become more defined. The affects of being shoot, losing blood, having surgery, and his daughter being kidnapped weren't kind to his eyes and face. He had dark bags under his ocean blue eyes, his face was pale but slowly gaining more color. He looked defeated and tired until you looked into those gorgeous eyes where there was always hope, joy, and love.
"What are you looking at?" Kate asked walking toward the bed. She leaned over and looked at the screen. She was reliving the annual Halloween party at the Castle loft. Almost three weeks ago.
Lizzie was wearing her cowgirl costume; her right hand was clutching the rim of the pink cowgirl hat while her left was holding lightly to Kate's arm. Lizzie was balanced on her hip, Kate was dressed as an Indian, small feathers were sticking out from behind her left ear and the tan dress she was wearing went to just above her mid-thigh. Rick was to Kate's left. He like his daughter was dressed in western gear. Rick and Lizzie had ganged up on Kate the week before Halloween. Kate was nervous this might hurt Alexis and asked the girl if she and her father did group costumes. The twenty-three year old laughed and said yes, up until she was seven. Kate then agreed to wear the Indian costume that she had no doubt Rick picked out.
"I love this picture." Rick said.
"Me too." Kate smiled, "I'm going to change." Kate turned and grabbed the bag Lanie had brought for her. "You might want to text Alexis and Martha that you're awake. I'll call my dad when I'm changed."
"Already did. They are on their way over as he speak."
Kate nodded and headed for the restroom that was in the room. She closed the door behind her and dropped the bag on the floor at her feet. She walked carefully over the mirror and examined the damage her clothes had. Her white blouse was stained red in spots; she could see her hand prints on the base of the shirt. From the knee to the cuff of her jeans was covered in sticky red blood from where she was kneeling at Rick's side waiting for the ambulance to arrive. As her eyes traveled over her figure she stopped to look her face, her eyes were red and puffy and bloodshot, her hair was tangled and the playful curls she normally wore had fallen out making her hair look stringy and knotted. She too like Rick had dark bags under eyes.
She began to strip off the bloody clothes and replace them with the clean ones Lanie brought. As she pulled off her jeans the pregnancy test fell from her pocket, landing on the floor under the sink, Kate bent and picked it up placing it on the edge of the white sink tossing her jeans away she grabbed the clean ones and tugged them on. She glanced over at the test on the sink as she buttoned and zipped her jeans and balled up her dirty clothes and forced them into the bag. She slipped her feet back into her heels. She grabbed the pregnancy test, wrapped another paper towel around it and stuck it into the right pocket of her jeans.
She stepped to the door and pulled it open. Looking across the room she saw Rick still gazing at her phone.
"I love this picture too."
"Which one?" Kate asked moving across the room to drop the bag of bloody clothes on the chair.
"One with you and Lizzie making pancakes."
"The time where she threw a fistful of flour at me?"
"Yeah. And you surprise attacked her with a handful of flour a couple minutes later." Rick laughed. "I think I got a video of it." Kate watched his eyes dart around the small screen. When she heard Lizzie's shrieks of laughter mixed with Rick's deep rumbling laugh and her own voice saying "Got ya!" Kate knew he found the video. She smiled at the memory and moved to the bed, she sat down next to the writer to watch the video. As it finished Rick continued to scroll through the pictures. Passing some of himself and Kate with or without their daughter. Alexis' face would appear on occasion along with Martha, Lanie, Esposito, and Ryan and Jenny with their sons Robert and David. Then pictures of Lizzie with Robert and David. Some at Robert's fourth birthday party, then some at David's second.
"I think it's funny how our children are age ordered." Rick laughed as he stopped on a picture of Lizzie, Robert, and David. "You know? Bobby is 4, then Lizzie at 3, ending with David at 2." He stated. "Well I shouldn't say ending with, because Lanie is pregnant with little Bella." He smiled. "She's due the week after Thanksgiving right?"
Kate hummed as she felt her heart jump into her throat, ending with; does that mean Rick doesn't want any more kids? Kate thought. Her right hand moved slowly from the bed to her stomach, the tip of her pinky finger brushing the pregnancy test hidden away in her pocket.
"Rick?" Kate breathed.
"Hmm." He hummed from her left.
"Do you want more kids?" She asked tentatively as she moved her right hand back down to the spot where it had recently been perched on the bed.
"Kate, I will never say no to kids." He said, placing her phone in his lap and taking her hand in his. "Do you want more?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
"Kate we can have as many kids as you want. If that means Lizzie is it, I'm fine with that. If you want more I'm good with that too. I'm happy if you're happy." He squeezed her hand. "Okay?"
Kate nodded and Rick leaned over to kiss her softly.
"Why do you ask?"
"Just curious." Kate said, she wasn't lying, she was just telling half the truth. She felt better about that, but was still going to wait on telling anyone about the pregnancy test that was currently pushing hard into her upper thigh.
X-X-X-X
Kate's eyes flew open when she heard the door being pushed open and Alexis' and Martha's shrieks of joy that Rick was awake. Kate heard him trying to shush the two women, but she straightened up in the chair she had dozed in.
"I'm awake. Sorry. How long was I out?"
"Twenty minutes." Rick answered as he smiled to his daughter and mother. "Hello Alexis. Hello mother." Rick said as Kate relaxed in the chair beside the bed.
"Dad!" Alexis yelled, then seeing Kate. "Sorry." She whispered.
"You're fine, I was up before you came in." Kate said as Martha and Alexis hugged Rick.
"Dad! What happened?" Alexis asked. Rick looked at his daughter, mother, and wife in turn. He started to repeat what had happened when Lizzie was taken, keeping his gaze trained on Alexis and Martha, except when he would occasionally glance over at Kate. She seemed to have zoned out and wasn't paying attention to anything but the light blue wall across from her. When the light hit her face just right he could see tears threatening to fall from her eyes, but she was strong and wouldn't let them, at least while people were here. She got up when Rick was almost through and grabbed her phone heading for the door. Rick hoped she wasn't going to the precinct, when he looked back over to chair she had so recently occupied he saw her jacket and exhaled, she wasn't leaving the hospital.
X-X-X-X
Kate had zoned off when Rick started reciting the events of earlier that day. She stared, her eyes unseeing at the wall opposite of her. She was playing with the hem of the shirt Lanie had brought for her to change into. As she sat, her mind darting from images of Lizzie that morning at breakfast, to Rick lying in a pool of his own blood, on to the voice of David Pearson repeating the same words, "Lizzie's fine, but she won't be for long." Shuddering slightly in the chair as she the words passed through her mind.
She checked her phone for a message from anyone. Nothing. No Ryan. No Esposito. No Sorenson. Nothing.
She remembered that she hadn't called her dad to tell him Rick was okay and awake, standing she walked to the door, phone in hand. She could feel Rick's eyes on her as she went to the door. Stepping into the hallway, she was about to dial her dad's number when she had the desire to get some fresh air, the stuffiness of the hospital was getting to her head. She walked to the elevator, suddenly realizing that she was on the fifth floor, she hadn't checked earlier when a doctor was leading her, Martha, Alexis, and Jim to Rick's room after he got out of surgery. As she stepped onto the elevator she committed the room and floor number to memory. The ride down was quick, there was one stop on the fourth floor where a mother holding a sleeping baby stepped in.
"Hi." She greeted happily.
"Hi." Kate said, noticing her throat was dry.
"Your baby is adorable." Kate offered after a minute of still silence.
"Thank you." She smiled kindly at Kate. "This is William." She bounced the child gently. "Do you have any?" She asked.
Kate nodded as she felt the lump in her throat return. "Lizzie, my three year old girl." Kate managed to get out.
"I'm sure she's precious."
"She is." Kate smiled, as Lizzie's laugh rang through her ears. She wanted to hold her little girl, make sure she was okay, she didn't want to let her go ever again. The soft ding of the lift brought Kate out of her trance.
"Well it was lovely to have met you." The woman smiled as she stepped off. "Happy holidays."
"Happy holidays." Kate muttered as she too stepped off and made her way to the door.
The chill of a November breeze caused Kate to shiver slightly. She tucked her arms around her torso and moved to a bench about ten yards away from the entrance. She sat and pulled out her phone. Looking down at the small black screen. She unlocked her phone and scrolled through her contacts, her thumb landing on her dad's name, she pressed the call button. Putting the phone to her ear it rang twice before her father picked up.
"Katie. Are you okay? Have they found Lizzie? Is Rick okay?" He rapid fired the questions at her so quickly she almost couldn't understand him.
"I'm fine. There's no news about the search. And Rick is awake, that's why I called." She explained.
"I'll be right over." He said and Kate heard a muffled, "Hemingway, stay." Her father had volunteered to watch Hemingway, while she, Rick, and Lizzie went out of town for a book thing last week. Kate was going to pick up Hemingway today, before she went home at the end of the day.
"Thanks dad." Kate said, she was unsure whether her father even heard her or not.
"I'm on my way, see you in a few minutes." He said, his voice crackling over the phone.
"Okay. See you in a minute."
"Love you, Katie."
"Love you too, dad." She heard the line click and pulled the phone away from her ear. She looked down at her left hand, it was resting on her belly, she didn't remember even placing her hand there.
She sat for minute, listening to the world around her, the normal sounds of the city were mixed with the usual sounds for a hospital, sirens were whaling, doctors running, horns beeping, people screaming. She closed her eyes as another cold breeze blew by, she shivered again, opening her eyes. She stood up, deciding if she stayed out here a moment longer she would catch a cold.
The journey back up to Rick's room was quick, nobody seemed to notice her as she moved through the lobby and halls or stepped into the back of the elevator. When she pulled open the door to private room she saw Alexis sitting on Rick's right and Martha on his left.
"Kate." Martha said. "We thought you left to go the precinct."
"No." Kate explained. "I promised I would call my dad when Rick woke up, so I went downstairs and called him, he's on his way now." She walked to foot of the bed, brushing the tips of fingers against where she was guessing Rick's feet were.
The family was silent for a while. "So what were you all talking about, while I was downstairs." Kate broke the silence.
"Everything." Rick said, before Martha or Alexis could reply. She saw Alexis look toward her father with a confused expression that turned to understanding by the look in her dad's eyes. Kate knew he was telling the truth, but just made it more general, instead of saying, Lizzie, the kidnapping, Rick, or the shooting. He knew Kate could only take so much no matter how hard she faked that she was okay.
"I see." She replied.
"I notice you changed clothes." Martha interjected.
"Yeah, Lanie brought them for me, when she, Ryan, and Esposito were here."
"That was very kind of her."
"Yeah." Kate nodded. "She looks like she's ready to burst though, with that big belly of hers."
"I think she and Detective Esposito are so cute." Alexis smiled. "And I can't wait for little Bella to arrive."
Rick nodded in agreement, keeping his eyes trained on Kate. He didn't hear much of the conversation after that, he was watching Kate, he knew she wasn't okay, he wasn't either, but Kate Beckett, the woman who always tried so hard to hide her emotions, she was doing it today, only bringing them out when it was just him or not at all. He also knew that after 48 hours the chances of finding an abducted child dropped to becoming very low, he knew Ryan and Esposito would never let anything happen to Lizzie, they loved her like their own daughter and Kate like a sister. Sorenson he also knew wouldn't let anything happen to Kate, let alone her family, no matter how much he hated the guy.
The conversation had stopped and everyone was looking around the room. Kate couldn't brave looking at anyone, she knew if she did she would burst into tears. So instead she focused her attention on the bag of bloody clothes she had changed out of that was sitting beside the chair she had so recently occupied.
Her mind wandered back to David Pearson. Where are you? Why did you take my daughter? You sick, twisted, deranged bastard. Thoughts and questions overwhelmed her mind as she stood at the foot of the bed. She would kill him if she got her hands on him, tearing Lizzie away from her like he did, and leaving her husband bleeding on the floor.
X-X-X-X
When the door opened everyone turned to look at the new comer. Kate moved first, seeing her dad, all she wanted to feel his arms around her. She walked to him, Jim seemed to understand her thoughts, because he gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her close. He ran his hands soothingly up and down her back.
Kate didn't cry this time, she needed the comforting hug of her father to tell her that everything was going to be okay. She pulled away and led him toward the bed, Jim extended a hand to Rick.
"Rick, glad to see you're awake." He said as Rick took his hand in a familiar shake.
"Thanks." Rick replied he didn't know what else to say.
"No news on my granddaughter?" Jim directed the question to his daughter.
Kate shook her head. "Nobody's called, we know that Lizzie's picture and Pearson's are out. Ryan and Esposito went to his apartment, he wasn't there, but they did find out that he has been stalking our family for five years. Ever since the case Rick and I worked. Pearson's daughter, Sarah was abducted, and just before we found her the kidnapper killed her. Rick and I worked the case but never caught the kidnapper." Kate explained.
Jim nodded. "Has Pearson contacted you about ransom?"
"No. We think it's because Rick's rich that we could have the money in minutes and that would end whatever Pearson is trying to do to quickly for his liking."
"Understandable." Alexis interjected.
"That's why Sorenson thinks he told us his name, since he can't have us on edge with getting the ransom, then he'll just keep us on edge by telling us his name and falling off the grid, so that we know who he is, but can't find him." Kate continued.
Nobody seemed to know how to respond. The group fell silent once again. After a few minutes, the door opened again, revealing Esposito and Ryan.
Chapter 4 is in the making. :)
REVIEWS are keeping me going. :)