"Thank god you're here," Karen, the dark haired nurse, commented as Rick entered the hospital and stared at the woman who was almost smiling at him in relief. "She attempted to get out of bed today and it didn't go well, she's refusing to talk to anyone," she explained as Rick smiled down at the bag Alexis had helped him pack earlier for her. He'd bought her books earlier in the week after their first day of knowing each other and he'd gone out the previous evening with Alexis to buy her some clothes. He knew she was fed up with the hospital gown they were forcing her to wear and he'd gone out to buy her some comfortable things to wear. "Try and cheer her up, she needs to have some breakfast."

"Do you think I could get a wheelchair and take her out for some breakfast? Just in the café downstairs?" he suggested as Karen bit into her lip, trying to make a decision. "I'll get her changed first and then perhaps you could make a decision?" Rick questioned as Karen nodded in agreement before he walked towards her private room and knocked on the door. Entering in silence, Rick stared at the brunette who was sat up on the bed with one of his books that was nearly finished. It was the third book he'd given her that week and he was happy to see that she was enjoying his work, it gave them something to discuss during their days. "Good morning Kate," he smiled as she glanced up from the book, sending him a quick smile before returning to the novel. "Finishing the chapter?"

"Finishing the book," she responded as he laughed and sat down in his familiar chair before resting the bag he'd brought on his lap before removing a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt that Alexis had chosen for the woman. Watching her in silence as she completed the novel, Rick watched as she closed it and rested it on the table beside her before looking across at him. "You get better as you go along," she commented as he nodded in agreement. "Do I get to read the Storm novels now?" she asked as he laughed.

"It's good that I remembered to bring the first one," he admitted, removing it from the bag before passing it to her as excitement covered her face. "I brought you some clothes as well, I thought you'd like to get out of the hospital gown," he explained, passing the clothing to her as excitement covered her face at the prospect of getting out of the hospital gown.

"Thank you," Kate smiled before glancing down at them. "Did Helen tell you what happened this morning?" she asked quietly as Rick nodded slowly, her eyes shutting as she groaned. "I just want to get out of this stupid bed, I want to be able to walk around and do something," she admitted, clearly frustrated as Rick slowly moved to sit down on the bed beside her before taking hold of her hand.

"You'll get out of this bed before you know it," he whispered as she rolled her eyes.

"You said that a week ago," she moaned, falling back against the pillows as he laughed and watched her as she began to play with her hair.

"What if I told you that if you get changed and act happier with Karen than you did earlier," he began as her eyebrows rose in excitement. "Karen might let me take you down to the café for breakfast," Rick explained quickly as she bit into her lip and nodded slowly before smiling down at the clothes he'd bought her. "I'll leave you to get dressed," he stated before walking out of the room in search of Karen. Lifting the hospital gown off, Kate bit into her lip as she stared down at her body before reaching for the t-shirt and pulling it on. She was skinnier than she'd ever been in her life and the doctors were desperate for her to put on weight. Swinging her legs forcibly, Kate smiled as she pulled on the sweat pants before breathing out and lying back. She was exhausted and she hated that her body was being so useless! She wanted to be able to get dressed properly; she wanted to be able to walk around. She just wanted to live her life again! Hearing a knock at the door, Kate turned and watched Rick walk in before nodding. "Much better," he commented as she laughed to herself.

"I feel better actually with just a change of clothes," Kate answered, the two of them falling silent as Karen entered the room with a wheelchair.

"You go down to the café and you come back here in an hour before the doctor gets back, you don't leave the hospital," she warned as both Rick and Kate nodded in agreement before she laughed and walked out of the room again. Walking towards the bed, Rick smiled as Kate bit into her lip and stared at him in silence before he lifted her into his arms and moved towards the chair, embarrassment covering her face at the prospect of having to be carried across the room.

"We'll get you walking again Kate," he whispered into her hair before placing her into the chair, the brunette nodding slowly as he began to wheel her out of the room for the first time. She hadn't left the room in twelve years and here she was, being wheeled out to get breakfast with Richard Castle! Entering the elevator in silence, Rick glanced down at Kate who was still playing with her hair before he wheeled her out and approached the small café. "Tea or coffee?" he asked as he found them a table and glanced across at her.

"Coffee," Kate admitted as he nodded and walked away to purchase their drinks before returning to find her glancing across at people around them. "Thank you," Kate whispered, taking hold of the warm mug before Rick sat down and looked at her. "They all keep staring at me," she commented as she glanced across at a couple who were sat behind them. "It's like their judging me, like it's weird to see a woman in a wheelchair inside a hospital."

"Kate they're not watching us and if they are they're probably just trying to guess why you're in a wheelchair, people do that all the time in hospitals," Rick promised as she nodded slowly, taking a sip of the warm liquid before shutting her eyes and relaxing back. "You're looking better every day," he commented as she laughed and smiled into her coffee while he watched her in amazement. "And by that I mean healthier, you've been beautiful since you woke up."

"Stop it," Kate warned as he shrugged.

"Just being honest," he declared as she rolled her eyes and finished her drink before relaxing back.

"Have you found anything else out about my mom yet?" Kate questioned as he shook his head, hating himself for lying to her. He'd told her that he didn't know anything about what had happened to her mother since he'd entered the precinct and found himself being brought to the hospital to meet her and he'd promised to find out what had happened to her mom. "There's something wrong Rick, she wouldn't just leave me here. She would visit every day and refuse to leave the hospital, it was the sort of person she was Rick."

"Kate," he whispered, fighting an inner battle of whether to tell her the truth about what had happened to her mother. If he told her she'd be able to grieve, to have the answers she was desperate for but if the doctor was right, telling her could damage her recovery and her ability to remember the events. "She sounds like an amazing woman Kate," he sighed as Kate nodded and smiled, glancing across at him as he watched her.

"She's brilliant, dedicated to everything she does whether family or work. I always wanted to be like her since I was really little," Kate admitted as Rick listened to her. "I loved going to work with her; I would sit in the chair beside her desk and just listen to everything she said. I was studying law at college, I was going to try and be a lawyer like she was," she sighed before shaking her head at the tears that were starting to run down her cheeks. "She never left me. She was never late to pick me up from school or for events. Dad always was and he'd attempt to make up for it but I didn't care because he was always there in the end. Rick she wouldn't just leave me like this, she wouldn't leave me here."

"Kate calm down," Rick said quietly as he moved to the seat beside her before taking hold of her hand and squeezing it, knowing that it was beginning to stress her out and her doctor wouldn't be impressed.

"Something's happened to her Rick," Kate answered, looking at him in silence. "I know it has."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXO

"Anything yet?" Ryan asked down the phone as Rick glanced across at the sleeping woman who had her arms tightly wrapped around his book.

"She doesn't remember anything," Rick stated, watching as she began to toss in the bed. "She wants to know what's happened to her mom, I can't keep lying to her Ryan," he declared as the detective groaned, feeling as bad about the situation as the writer did. Watching as Kate began to toss more and groan, Rick bit into his lip in panic before he quickly told Ryan that he had to leave, hanging up before he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Kate, you need to wake up," he declared before shaking her slightly, needing her to wake up as she began to thrash about. "Kate," he almost shouted, her eyes flying open before she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his neck. "It's okay, I've got you."

"They kept shouting, they were shouting at her Rick and they didn't stop. She was screaming and I couldn't help her, someone was holding onto me tightly," she sobbed as he stared down at her in silence, realising that her dream had brought back some of the memories of that night. "They were breathing on me; I could smell cigarettes and his aftershave."

"Kate, I need to call Ryan and Esposito," he whispered as she shook her head and remained close to him, not wanting him to let her go. "Kate, do you remember how many people there were?" he asked as she remained silent for a moment. "There was a man holding you, how many others were there?"

"One more," Kate said quietly before glancing up at him and shaking her head. "There were two men Rick."

"Thank you," he whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair before reaching across for his cell phone and dialling Javier's number while Kate cuddled into his side and shut her eyes, still crying.

"Esposito," Javier answered as Rick glanced down to see her curled up against him like Alexis used to do as a young child.

"There were two men," Rick blurted out before they fell silent. "She remembers two men Esposito."

"Okay, tell her thank you," Javier responded before he hung up and Rick ran his fingers through Kate's hair, trying desperately to comfort her in some way.

"Esposito says thank you," he whispered as she remained still. "Come on, talk to me," he muttered, cuddling her close as she rested her head against his chest, hating how weak she was acting.

"He was breathing on my neck and he kept making these comments," she muttered, clutching onto his t-shirt as he watched her in amazement. "Kept making comments about how beautiful I was, how much I was like my mom and then the other man started shouting at the man who was holding me, I can't remember what he was saying," she whispered before shaking her head in annoyance. "That's when I was hit on the head I think, I don't remember anything else."

"It's okay, that's more than we had earlier Kate," Rick insisted, desperate for her to feel like she had achieved something through reliving the nightmare as she remained cuddled up against him. "We're going to catch the bastards who did this Kate."

"Will you stay tonight?" she asked quietly as he remained silent, not knowing what to say. He wasn't supposed to stay in the hospital and he wasn't supposed to get this involved with someone who was involved in a case. "I don't want to be alone if I'm going to have that dream again."

"I'll stay, I won't leave you."

XOOXOXOXXOXOXOX

Reading her the first Storm novel quietly, Rick stared at the woman who was cuddled up against him in complete silence. She hadn't moved since her nightmare, instead remaining as close to him as she would allow. He'd called Alexis, telling her that he wouldn't be home that night and he'd sorted out staying with the doctors after much pleading! He wasn't going to leave her, not when she had no one else to spend time with her and look after her! He needed to be there for her, he needed to help her to get better, to help her get justice for her mother.

"You never imagine something like this will happen when you're a teenager," Kate commented as he fell silent and listened to her. "I imagined that by the time I was thirty I'd be in a serious relationship or even married, I dreamt I'd have this amazing career and would be thinking about babies. I always wanted a family," she admitted, the writer taking in how broken she sounded. "Everything's messed up now."

"You can still have that Kate," he declared as she glanced up at him and shook her head. "Thirty two is not old Miss Beckett."

"I'm never going to be the same person again am I though? Twelve years of my life are gone, I haven't achieved anything. Who would want to be in a relationship with someone who was at college one day and then woke up in a coma twelve years later? I'm complicated and I'm messed up and by the time I find someone who would even take that chance it'll be unlikely I could have the family I wanted.

"You're making it sound like you're at least forty five Kate; you're in your earlier thirties. Loads of women now aren't having babies until their forties Kate so stop worrying," he explained as she nodded slowly, embarrassed at how stupid her rant was. It sounded like the only thing she wanted from life was to get married and have children and that was wrong! "Anyway, people would be stupid not to want to be in a relationship with you," he commented as she stared at him. "You're a beautiful woman Kate and you're kind and intelligent," he listed as she rested against him, taking in everything he was saying. "And life always has a way of surprising us."

"What do you mean?" Kate questioned.

"Life doesn't go by the plan we want, if it had I wouldn't have been married twice and divorced twice and I wouldn't have my daughter," he explained as she nodded slowly. "For all you know Kate, the man of your dreams might walk through that door in the next five minutes, you just have to wait and see what happens," he smiled, observing her yawn before he laughed. "You need to get some sleep Kate," he whispered, glancing down at her as she shook her head again. She didn't want to go to sleep; she wanted to stay talking and thinking about something completely different. She didn't want to think about the attack again. She didn't want to hear her mom screaming her name in agony. "Kate, if you start having a nightmare again I will wake you up I promise but you need to get some rest or you won't get any better."

"You promise to wake me up?" she asked nervously as he nodded.

"I haven't broken a promise yet," he stated as she smiled and relaxed again.

"Will you keep on reading?" she questioned.

"Until you're asleep Kate," he responded quickly, finding where he'd left off before starting to read again until she fell asleep against him. "We'll find them Kate, we'll find them and we'll make sure they can never hurt anyone again," he whispered to her before closing the book and placing it on the bedside table before relaxing. He'd known this woman a week and yet here he was, sleeping the same bed with her with a desperate need to protect her from everything that had happened in the past. "I'm going to look after you Kate, I'm going to help you get better," he muttered before shutting his eyes.

What do you think? I'm not particularly happy with this chapter but it depends on what you think. I know that Beckett doesn't seem like Beckett but she's a different person and she will become more Beckett like as the story goes along and she learns the truth. I'm thinking about introducing Alexis to Kate in the next chapter but it depends on what you want to see. Any ideas are welcome.