"You look nice today Kate," the young nurse commented as she entered the private room to see the brunette sat on the edge of the bed in a navy blue dress that went to her knees while she ran the brush through her hair. "So have you and your writers got any plans?" she questioned as Kate shrugged, knowing that Rick was in charge of the day and he would be here any minute now to take her away. Hearing the nurse sigh, Kate watched as she quickly walked out of the room before the door opened again and Rick entered the small room with a wheelchair he'd managed to borrow from the hospital.
"Good morning," Rick smiled as Kate looked at him with a large smile covering her face. "You look nice today," he commented, smiling when she began to blush before helping her into the chair. She still couldn't walk properly and he knew that was the major area of concern amongst the doctors but he knew she'd get there. She was Kate Beckett, she'd already proven that she was strong and he wasn't going to give up on her recovering completely. "Let's get out of here," he stated as she nodded, relaxing back as he pushed her out of the room and passed the nurses' station, the nurse from earlier smiling at them both as Rick pushed her into the elevator. "I thought we'd go to my apartment today. I know it's not that much fun but I thought we'd just relax and do more fun things on our future outings when you're more mobile," he explained as she nodded slowly. "I know it's not what you wanted."
"I just want to get out of here. I'm happy with whatever we do," she admitted as she looked up at him to see him staring at her with a blank expression. "Are you okay Rick?" she asked as he nodded, forcing the smile onto his face as she nodded slowly for a moment. "Are Alexis and your mother going to be there?" she questioned as he shook his head.
"They should be at the spa by the time we get home," Rick admitted as she nodded slowly. "Alexis really likes you," he commented.
"Thank you," Kate said quietly. "I like her too, she's a clever young woman and she's as lovely as you described."
"I don't know where she gets it from. She's responsible, clever and unbelievably kind and honestly, she's not that much like her mother or me really but she's one hundred per cent my daughter," Rick explained before she shook her head. "What?" he asked.
"She's just like you Rick, you might not see it but you're really similar," Kate explained as she turned her head to face him. "You both care about other people more than anything. Rick, I was a stranger. I was someone you'd never met before and yet you've come to visit me every day and you're inviting me into your home and you've introduced me to your daughter. Rick, you've been the only person who has come to see me since I woke up and I'll never forget that."
"Kate," Rick whispered as she stared at him for a moment before the doors opened and he pushed her out of the elevator. He hated himself for lying to her and here she was being grateful for having him in her life, for having him as the only person who'd been around. Wheeling her out of the building and towards the car that his driver parked only a few moments away, Rick opened the door before helping her into the vehicle and watching as the driver folded the wheelchair up and put it into the back of the car while Rick climbed inside beside her and found her hand. He couldn't keep lying to her. He couldn't keep lying to the woman who trusted him more than anything in the world at the moment. She deserved the truth more than anything, especially with everything she was dealing with. "We'll go to mine and watch some stupid movies at mine, order a pizza or some Chinese and just generally have a lazy day on the couch."
"That sounds brilliant," Kate admitted as she glanced out the window at the changed city. "New York isn't really anything like I remember Rick, it's so different. It seems so much bigger than I remember it being," she commented, staring at the movement around her as the drive drove them through the city towards Rick's apartment. "I'd like to meet your mother one day."
"Well hopefully the doctors will let me take you out more often and you can. One night I'll take you to this new show she's in. I'll buy us the best seats and I'll take you out for a proper dinner beforehand," he promised as she smirked at him.
"That sounds like a date Mr Castle," she commented as his eyebrows rose. Dressing up, dinner and a show," she listed before they both fell silent for a moment, his hand still holding hers as she bit into her lip. "So, are you asking me out on a date?" she asked as he shut his eyes. He couldn't do this, he couldn't ask her on a date when he was lying to her about her mother's death. Her mother had been murdered and he was covering the whole thing up and now he'd practically asked her on a date and god, he wanted to take her on a date! "Rick?"
"We're here Mr Castle," the driver stated as Rick looked across to see that they were parked outside his apartment.
"Good," Rick stated quickly before climbing out of the vehicle while Kate groaned and shut her eyes in frustration. Hearing the driver unfolding the wheelchair, Kate watched as Rick opened the door and helped out of the vehicle silently before she sat down in the chair and Rick pushed her inside the building, both of them feeling uncomfortable. "What movies do you want to watch Kate?" he asked as they entered the elevator, the brunette shrugging as she sat in silence. Pushing her out when the doors opened, Rick quickly approached his apartment before unlocking the door and pushing Kate into the apartment.
"Wow," Kate muttered as Rick laughed. "This is amazing."
"Thanks," Rick responded as he stopped moving the chair and smiled at her for a moment. "Do you want me to carry you to the couch?" he questioned as she shrugged, smiling when he lifted her out of the chair and carried her towards the brunette before placing her gently onto the furniture. "Do you want a drink?" he asked quietly.
"Can I have some water?" Kate responded as he nodded and moved towards the fridge while she relaxed back into the corner and shut her eyes. "How long have you lived here?" she asked as Rick laughed.
"Sixteen years," Rick admitted as she nodded. "I bought it after I left Alexis' mother," he explained as he poured two waters before bringing them over and sitting down. "I'd caught her mother having sex with a director in our bed and once she left us I couldn't cope with living in that apartment. I saw this place and well, I just fell in love with it."
"I don't blame you," Kate explained as she took the glass from him when he sat down on the couch. "It's an amazing apartment."
"Thanks," Rick said quietly, watching Kate as she glanced around the room, taking in the pictures that were on the surfaces and the various possessions that were on sight.
"It must be nice having somewhere that feels like home," Kate explained as he sighed, watching as she put the glass on the coffee table before watching him. "I'm never going to get out of the hospital am I?" she asked.
"Of course you will," Rick declared.
"I don't have anywhere to go," she said simply. "My father isn't exactly going to welcome me back. He's just left me in a hospital Rick and I don't have anywhere else to go, I don't have any other family except for my parents. I've always lived with my parents except for when I was at college; I don't have my own home."
"Then we'll find you one. You can build a home Kate, you're first ever home. Once you're better we can find you somewhere to live and I'll help you," Rick said simply as she nodded before he stood up and moved towards the cabinet where he kept his dvd's. "The new Star Wars films?" he asked as she nodded quickly.
"The new Star Wars films," she agreed.
XOOXOXOXOXOX
"I can't keep lying," Rick hissed down his cell phone as he stood in his office, the door shut firmly behind him. He'd taken the moment to call Ryan and Esposito while Kate was asleep on the couch because he was still panicking about earlier and the whole date issue. They'd eaten and laughed while watching the movies and she'd fallen asleep during the third Star Wars which hadn't surprised him as she was used to sleeping most of the day. "She needs to know the truth; she deserves to know the truth."
"Her doctor says we can't tell her Castle," Esposito sighed down the line as Rick groaned. "We're not doctors; we don't know what's best for her."
"And you seriously think lying to her about her mother is?" Rick responded, trying to remain quiet so Kate wouldn't hear him if she woke up in the living room. "She has no one. Her father has left her and she's wondering where her mother is. Deep down she knows something has happened."
"We don't have the right to tell her the truth," Javier argued as Rick sat down in his chair and stared at the file that was resting on his desk with the image of a dead Johanna Beckett sticking out of it. He was stupid leaving it out but Kate couldn't get into his office and he was desperate to find some answers so he could make life easier for the younger woman. "Castle, you don't have the right to tell her about her mother."
"She trusts me and this whole time I've been lying to her, she deserves better than that," Rick stated as Javier laughed. "What are you laughing at?"
"Espo," Ryan's voice warned as Rick remained perfectly silent.
"Castle, you're just talking crap now. She's a beautiful woman and you've got close to her and you're starting to feel guilty because you want to be more than a friend," Esposito stated, Rick's mouth opening to reply to the man's comments. "This always happens. There's a beautiful woman and you end up going too far."
"Esposito," Ryan said quickly.
"What it's true?" Esposito replied to his colleague as Rick shook his head in silence. "If the doctor finds out that you told her the truth do you think he's going to let you near her? Do you think she's going to let you near her if you tell her the truth?" the detective explained as Rick sighed. "We don't like this situation Castle, none of us do but we need to do what her doctor thinks is best for her."
"I don't agree him though. He doesn't know her like I do, he hasn't made the effort to get to know her," Rick replied.
"When you have a medical degree Castle, we'll listen to your opinions on the matter," Javier quickly stated before the three men fell silent. "We have to get back to work Castle," Esposito muttered before the line went dead, the writer groaning before he put his cell phone on the table and walked out of his office to see Kate still lying across the couch with a blanket thrown over her body.
"Sit with me Rick," Kate's tired voice demanded as he smiled and moved to sit down on the couch, a yawn leaving her mouth as she rested her head on his lap and felt his fingers begin to play with her without him really noticing his actions. Staring down at her, Rick took in how beautiful and relaxed she looked as she kept her eyes shut before sighing.
"When you can walk properly I'll take you on a date," he said quietly as her smile grew. "When you can walk without assistance, we'll go out for a proper dinner and then a show. Just the two of us," he promised as she nodded slowly and relaxed against him while he continued to play with her hair, curling it around his fingers. He was going to tell her the truth, one day he was going to tell her the truth but he was terrified about making things worse for her. What if the doctor was right? What if he'd been telling the truth and telling Kate the truth about her mother made things worse for her?
"I'd like that," Kate said quietly, snapping him out of his nervous thoughts. "Thank you Rick," Kate whispered as he glanced down at her in confusion.
"For what?" he asked as she relaxed.
"For being my friend," she yawned as he shut his eyes.
She wasn't going to forgive him when she learnt the truth.
Please review. Reviews get me through revision and through exams and I need that motivation at the moment.
I'm not sure about this chapter but what do you think? I'd like to know.