Author's Note:

Well gee whiz, guys, you sure know how to make an author very very happy. :) Thanks so much for sticking with this fic, and leaving me such lovely reviews! I really appreciate each and every one of your reviews! So I'd like to give a shoutout to Gloria, caskettismagic14, NessAliceLautner, allieboballie, glo1196, and Trisana Sarrasri – thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it. :)

This was supposed to be up last night, and I apologize that it wasn't.

I hope you like this chapter. This is completely from Castle's POV. Feel free to tell me if you feel that I've been neglecting a character. I know I've been neglecting Ryan and Esposito...and I feel bad, but they'll be in here soon enough. The last chapter was special, and this one is going to be a touch of comic relief, since I think you guys need it a lot at this point in the story, and lots of information. You're also going to have to suspend disbelief a fair bit in here. But I hope you like it. :)

Chapter 4: Castle Leaps Into Action

Castle's POV

For the first time in my life, I was speechless.

I had no silver lining.

I had nothing.

Kate was severely injured, and we didn't know if she was going to be okay. We'd already waited exactly 206 minutes in the hospital with no updates on her progress, and every one of those minutes, the three of us were living in fear, as there was nothing the paramedics could tell us about how she was doing.

Nothing that they would tell us, at least.

I'd had enough. I was waiting, and Lanie was waiting, and Jim Beckett certainly deserved to know his daughter's condition. She'd been classified as being in grave condition when we first brought her here, and we'd heard nothing since then. That wasn't good enough, and I was going to find out.

I stood up quickly, causing Lanie to flinch in surprise (she had been sitting, immobilized, beside me for about half an hour.) and walked over to the door.

"I'm going to see what I can find out," I said, softly.

"They probably won't tell you much more then they told me," Lanie said cynically. "But at least it's a hell of a lot better than waiting."

"I know someone that works here. Just an acquaintance, but better than nothing, I guess. Let's see if we can get some answers."

"You have a guy EVERYWHERE." Lanie said incredulously.

"I know," I said, with the slightest trace of a smile on my face. I was about to walk out, but then Jim Beckett spoke.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "Go get 'em, Rick."

"Wait, Rick!" Lanie called, stopping me in my tracks.

"Yes?"

She looked at me guiltily, like she was about to ask something that she felt bad about for some reason.

"I...um, did you call Josh?"

"I've tried him on his cell every fifteen minutes since we got here. No answer." I said, trying to hide the guilt that I felt. I knew Kate would want him here, and he wasn't, despite my best efforts. I owed it to Kate to get him here, and as long as I didn't do everything in my power to get him here, I was failing her.

"Did you try his office?"

"Their voicemail is offline for some reason, and there's no answer, so I'll have to go there in person, once I get more information about Kate. I've got to track him down one way or another."

"Okay. Good luck."

I left, and went straight for reception. I really hoped this would work.

I scanned the counter, looking for my guy, and saw only two women there. There was an older woman with obviously dyed orange hair and bags under her eyes. She was wearing black bellbottoms and a strange tye-dye scrub shirt that looked less like a garment and more like she was wearing a green sheet covered with the lunch of one of her patients. Adding an even stranger accent to the ensemble were the bright pink sequin earrings that dangled from her earlobes. She reminded me of my mother.

This reminded me that I had to call Mother, and Alexis. I hadn't seen or spoken to them since we left the funeral.

I cleared my throat, and waited until she looked up. Her nameplate read "Maud."

She looked at me with a strange look, like she was trying to figure out where she'd seen me before. I was used to this, and didn't bother to explain who I was. Yet.

"Can I help you?" she asked, in a deeper voice than I was expecting.

"Yes. I'm looking for a friend of mine." Friend. That was generous. But realistically, I was famous. People tend to want to be my friend, and often claim they are, even if I barely know them. It's my cross to bear, but right now, it would come in handy. Hopefully.

"It's an emergency and I really need to speak with him right away," I added, trying to use a tone that meant business, but wasn't overly intimidating. The tone that Beckett used all the time when she was speaking to people that she was questioning.

"Name?"

"His name is George Elmann. Can you page him or something?"

"I'm not at liberty to do that for a complete stranger." She was fishing. She still wanted to know who I was. She recognized me, but the fact that she didn't know who I was was eating her alive.

"Well, could I have his cell number then, please?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level, and not showing my growing impatience. Think poker, Ricky. Show no emotion. You don't want them to think you're a psycho.

She folded her arms and looked me up and down in disbelief. "Who might you be? Why don't you have his number yourself, if you're a 'friend?'"

"I lost all the contacts in my phone, and since I moved, I haven't been able to contact George to get it back. And now it's an emergency." I crossed my fingers under the counter. Would she buy it? Oh, lightbulb. "My name is Richard Castle, if that helps." I smiled enchantingly at her. Would she take the bait?

"Richard...Castle? The novelist?"

"In the flesh." I've always wanted to use that phrase.

Her jaw went slack, and her eyes widened. "That-that's amazing. I knew I recognized you from somewhere!" She fumbled around in her purse, until she pulled out a small volume. "I was reading Heat Wave on my break. I have it right here. Would you be do kind as to sign it?"

I winced at the sight of the book. It reminded me that my muse, and more importantly, my best friend – slash – love of my life was fighting for her life. I turned it over so it was facedown.

"Um, Maud, here's the deal. I'll certainly sign this book for you, and any other books you want me to, if you get me George's number."

"You got it, honey."

"Hello?"

"Hi there, George, it's Rick calling."

"Who?"

"Um, it's Castle. Rick Castle."

"Castle, Castle..." Seriously, dude? Don't you read?

"26 bestsellers?"

"Huh?" He really couldn't remember me. I would be offended if I didn't have a mission at hand.

"Oh come on! We went to the same creative writing class. At Serenity Prep."

"Oh yeah...Dude, that was in college! How am I supposed to remember you?"

"Uh..." Well gee whiz, maybe because I went on to become a famous novelist, and you gave up on your dream so that you could practically anonymously clean up other people's –

" – Hold on. Weren't you the guy that introduced yourself as 'the next Ian Fleming'?"

Oops. The Richard Castle that I had been in college was even more arrogant than I had remembered. I laughed awkwardly.

"Uh, hahahaha...I don't remember. All I remember was that your character just seemed so strong, and admirable. I remember he was quite inspiring..." I coughed. Ass-kissing was not something I did best. It was something that other people did best to me. I felt like I wanted to take a shower now. "But, I'm calling, because I really need your help, and I'll owe you anything if you agree to help me."

George paused uncertainly, clearly suspicious. "What kind of favour?"

"I can't get any information about how my partner is doing. She got shot almost 3 hours ago, and we haven't heard anything about her. We're all really worried. Any chance you could maybe go behind the big white doors, check in on her, and report back to me so I know how she's doing?"

"...Uh...gee, man, I don't know..."

"Please, old friend?" I begged. Ugh, this whole begging thing was really humiliating. But it was for a good cause.

"We were never friends."

"Okay, then you would be helping out a fellow man in a very big crisis. I love her." I swallowed, and continued. "I need to know she's okay. So does her best friend, and her father. We've all been waiting for hours. Haven't you ever been in love, George?"

He clicked his tongue. "Why should I help you? What's in it for me?"

Oooh, the secretly slimy medical professional. If this was any other time, I would love it.

"Because I will do anything to repay you."

There was a pause as Elmann considered this. "I just go in, walk out, tell you how she's doing, and then you owe me one, right?"

"Exactly."

"Fine. What the hell."

"Oh, thank God. You will not regret this, Georgie, you will not regret this! I'm in Room 419."

"Well, my break's over, so I gotta run. But I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you so much!"

Click.

Okay. So now we had a chance at some information about Kate.

"...You've reached Dr Joshua Davidson's office. Unfortunately we are experiencing technical difficulties and our voicemail service is currently unavailable. You are welcome to drop by the office at 12212 Lexington Rd, if you wish to speak with one of our doctors." Click. Dialtone.

Damn, I'm going to have to go there in person. Hurry up, George.

My pocket vibrated, and my heart skipped a beat in the hopes that it was Josh. But it was Alexis, someone I both wanted and didn't want to talk to right now. I didn't want to worry her, so I wanted to talk to her. But I knew she would ask a lot of questions, and I had no information to give her.

I chose to answer the phone.

"Dad! Dad!" Alexis cried.

"Easy, honey, I heard you the first time." I said soothingly.

"Are you okay? How is Detective Beckett?" She was hysterical, her voice the audible embodiment of how I felt on the inside.

"I'll be okay if she's okay," I said truthfully, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice.

"Do you want me to come over there?"

"No, Alexis. It's probably best if there are as few people as possible..." But I wanted her here more than anyone. Besides Kate of course.

Alexis said nothing for a few seconds, then replied, "Call me again, and I'll be there like 'that.'" She snapped her fingers.

"Thanks darling. I love you."

"Love you too, Dad. And I'm serious. The second you hear anything, or you want me there, call me."

I did want her with me right now, but I didn't feel right bringing her here when things were so unstable. No way I could bring her here and have her sit and wait in terror like the rest of us. I would call her when I had something to tell her. Preferably something good.

George arrived at room 419 moments after I finished the call with Alexis. He didn't look at all like I remembered him. He was about 30 pounds overweight, balding, and unshaven. And about a head shorter than me. Not the handsome and talented budding writer I remembered from our college days. When he saw me, his eyes flashed, clearly thinking the same thing.

"Hi George," I said politely, shaking his hand. "Thanks again for doing this. This is Lanie, and uh, Mr. Beckett."

Lanie smiled, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Mr. Beckett did not smile or say anything.

"How's Katie?" he asked.

George cleared his throat. "They found and are working on removing the bullet. It was a bit hard to remove since it was just two centimetres away from her heart. She's lost a lot of blood. She may need a blood transfusion."

My eyes widened. "Oh my god."

George continued. "They were able to remove the bullet, without causing any danger to her internal organs. She was very very lucky. She must have moved slightly when the bullet hit her, because it was so close to her heart, the person who fired the gun must have been a trained assassin." He said this part very gently, and followed it up with a quiet, "Sorry."

Lanie covered her mouth and stifled a sob. Jim Beckett showed no emotion apart from the tightening of his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"Wait, what? She moved?" I asked, not understanding.

"The bruises on her body are consistent with the scenario that someone tried to push her out of the way when the shot was fired," George explained. "That someone prevented the shot from killing her instantly."

I swallowed, and felt the eyes of Lanie and Mr. Beckett on me. I pressed him for more.

"If they removed the bullet, why are they keeping her in the OR? Is she going to be okay?"

"We're still removing parts of the bullet. She's currently unconscious at this time. The bullets the would-be killer used were extremely powerful. They were high calibre, and were intended to explode into several different pieces on impact. The person that shot her wanted her to die. This was an attempt at an overkill. If that shot had hit her point-blank, her heart would have been absolutely destroyed, and her body would have gone into immediate shock. She would have died instantly."

This was sure not easy to hear, especially when he still hadn't told us if she was going to be okay. I shuddered, and put my head in my hands.

"So if the bullet exploded inside her, can you be sure of the type of bullet that hit her? Those bullets can probably be traced very easily. Maybe they were custom-made?" Mr. Beckett asked, thinking hard.

George shook his head. "We couldn't maintain the integrity of the bullet. Many of the particles hit her ribs, and a couple of her ribs have been broken. It will take a long time to remove all the bullet fragments, and that process is very difficult. It will be almost impossible to remove all of them, but completely necessary, as leaving them in can cause many problems. We're still working on removing all the pieces. We don't have any way of knowing how many there are."

"But something we do know about the bullet," George continued, "is that this type of bullet is outlawed in the public market. Once we get all the pieces out, we'll send them to the police station so they can attempt at reconstruction."

"Is she going to be okay?" Lanie asked firmly. George had failed to answer that question.

George sighed. "I'm afraid to make any promises I can't keep."

"Just tell us what you know, then." Lanie persisted.

"I know she was upgraded to critical condition by the time I got there. Things look unfavourable, but we're making progress. Surgery should be finished in another hour, and I'll send another person to you for an update. There is about a 70% chance she will live, so there is reason for hope."

Upgraded to critical condition. That is definitely not something you want to here about someone you care about.

"Thank you, George. You've been extremely helpful. Call me when you want to negotiate that thing you want me to do. I owe you one."

He nodded, and left the room.

I sat down and sighed deeply, with my head in my hands. Kate had been so close to death. So ridiculously close to death. And she still wasn't out of the woods yet. But at least we had some information about how she was doing. And some cause for hope. Finally.

"You were the one who pushed her out of the way, weren't you, Rick?" Mr. Beckett asked me.

I looked up at him. "I tried. It still hit her."

"But Castle, didn't you hear what he said? He said the little distance she was moved prevented her from dying instantly. You were the one who moved her. You were the one that saved her." Lanie said, stubbornly.

"I didn't save her." I said flatly. If I moved her a little bit, I've now allowed her to be in unbearable pain instead of just being killed instantly. She could still die. If she did, she would die more painfully than if she had just been killed instantly. The reality of the situation was starting to become unbearable pain to me. I could only imagine how Kate was feeling.

"You couldn't have saved her." Mr. Beckett told me. "But at least you gave her a fighting chance. You risked your own life in the process. I know you would have taken that bullet for her if you could have. If Kate was awake, I'm sure she would be on the fence between kicking your ass for risking your life for her, or being unbelievably proud of you, and grateful more than anything." He put his hand on my shoulder, and smiled. "I'm proud of you, Rick."

I smiled grimly, and stood up.

"I need to call Alexis, and go get Josh. Kate needs him here, especially if she'll be out of surgery in an hour."

Mr. Beckett nodded.

"You're a great guy, Castle." Lanie said gently, with a small smile. "Man, are we lucky to have you."

I felt my face get hot. Was this modesty I was feeling? It was so foreign. "I'm lucky to be here. You've all done so much for me. Especially Kate." I swallowed, feeling emotional again. I had to get out. "I've got to go. But I'll be back."

And with that, I got up and left the room, mentally praying that Kate's condition would continue to improve. Critical was still very very close to dead. And I didn't know what I would do if she died...So I focused on getting Josh here. Even though I personally thought he was an ass for being unavailable only at the times his girlfriend needed him the most, he needed to be here, and Kate would probably want him here too. Right now, Kate came first, and my personal opinion of the guy meant nothing.

Author's Note:

Next up: "Ch. 5: Rise and Fall." Castle goes to find Josh, and Kate's condition changes. Alexis, Ryan and Esposito arrive.

As usual, I really appreciate your thoughts, so if you have time (and motivation) to leave me a review, that would be awesome, thanks! :) I won't leave you guys dangling too much longer, I promise. I appreciate you all sticking with this fic.