When Kate opened her eyes, she closed them immediately. Bright. Way too bright. On her second attempt, she managed to get her eyes half open before a shadow came to her, making her close them again.
"I know you're awake, I saw you move your eyes." she heard a voice say.
She tried once more and successfully opened her eyes only to come face to face with Richard Castle. THE Richard Castle. She closed them back immediately.
"Are you ok Miss?" he asked, sounding worried.
"You're Richard Castle." was all she managed to get out.
"Yes I am, but are you feeling alright?"
"You're Richard Castle." she simply repeated.
"Yes, I know. Now, can you open your eyes and say something else so I'm sure you're not dying or anything?"
She finally opened her eyes completely and looked at him. What was he doing with her? Where was she? What happened? As if he could hear her thinking, he explained the situation.
"You're at the hospital. My daughter saw you crying on the stairs and you fainted when you tried to get up." he said, looking at Alexis who was sleeping in the chair in a corner of the room they were in.
As she was about to say something, a nurse entered the room.
"Oh good, you're awake! I'm nurse Parish but you can just call me Lanie. How are you feeling?"
"He is Richard Castle." Kate said.
"It's the only thing she'd been saying since she woke up. I think something is wring with her. Maybe she hit her head and I didn't see it." Rick said.
"Don't worry, all her tests are fine. My guess is she's just not used to seeing celebrities and she really likes your books, or you, or both." Lanie said, looking at Kate. "See, she's blushing! Everything is fine with her." she laughed.
"I always thought a nurse's job was to help the patients, not to embarrass them." Kate grumbled, crossing her arms on her chest.
She started getting out of the bed but Lanie's arm on her shoulder stopped her.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"Home. Where else would I go? I need to get ready for work. What time is it?"
"Five." Rick answered, looking at his watch.
"Oh my God I'm already late!" Kate said, gathering her things.
"Are you crazy? You are not going to work today! You fainted and it took you two hours to come out of it. And your blood pressure is way lower than normal. All you're doing today is rest and if your blood pressure is back to normal by tonight, you can go back tomorrow but you have to take it easy!" Lanie said, not happy with what she was hearing.
"Well, I'm not staying here all day!" Kate exclaimed.
"It's either you stay here or you give me your address and I go and check on you tonight." Lanie traded.
"That's blackmail! You can't force me to stay in here and I'm most certainly not telling you where I live. What kind of a nurse are you?" Kate almost yelled.
"Uh, ladies, could you keep it quiet? There is a child sleeping here." Rick intervened.
"Look, take your daughter home Mr. Castle. It was really nice of you to get me here but you didn't have to stay. Take you little girl home and put her to bed. I'm going home and that's the end of it." Kate said.
"How did you come here?" Lanie asked.
"I drove. I brought my father to the emergency room."
"I'm letting you go on one condition. You can go but only if writer-boy here is driving you home. Otherwise you stay here." Lanie said.
"What is it with you and blackmail, seriously?" Kate asked.
"It's your choice: home with writer-boy or hospital with me." Lanie repeated.
Kate glared at her for a few seconds. Seeing that the petite black woman had no intention of backing down, she grumbled "home" and waited by the door for Richard Castle to take his daughter and bring her home.
They left the hospital and walked to Rick's car in silence.
"So, apparently you know me, but I don't know you. What's your name and where do you live?" Rick started as they left the parking lot.
"Wow, you're of the direct kind, aren't you?" she laughed.
"Hey, a smile! Everything can happen! And no, I'm not really of the direct kind. If I ask for your address it's so I can drive you home. My intentions are pure, I promise."
Kate blushed furiously and gave him her address, turning to the window to hide her embarrassment. She said "thank you" and all but run out of the car when he parked out of her apartment building.
When Kate woke up, it was five in the afternoon. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that she was in her bed, in her apartment and there was no famous crime novelist hovering over her. Well, that was a good start. When she remembered the night before, all she could think about was "Oh God, I made such a fool of myself!" She forced herself out of her bed and went into the shower. Once she was ready for what was left of the day, she realized that she had the weekend off and that she didn't have to go back to the precinct until Monday evening for her night shift.
She had to call the hospital to know when her father would be discharged and what were her options for getting him cured. However, she did not want to think about that today. He had clearly said to the doctor that he didn't want her to visit after all his tests were done. That was what hurt the most. Even more than the news in itself. Tomorrow she will think about it. She had already lost a parent, she was not losing the second one. And certainly not to something as stupid as alcohol!
With her resolution in mind, she took a book on her shelf and settled on the couch. Her reading was interrupted by someone knocking at the front door. She went and opened it on a messenger carrying flowers.
"Kate Beckett?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Sign here please." he said, handing her the signing sheet. "ere you go. Have a good evening." he added, giving her the flowers and walking away.
Kate went back in her apartment and put the flowers on the table. They were really beautiful but she had absolutely no idea who could have sent them. She took the card and read it quickly:
"I hope you're felling better.
Rick Castle.
PS: got your last name from the mailbox."
She smiled softly. She had never imagined him to be so … caring for someone he had met for a total of two hours. It was definitely not the image the media were giving of him. She didn't have time to think about it further because someone was knocking at her door … again. This time, she came face to face with a certain petite nurse.
"You've got to be kidding me! What are you doing here?" Kate asked, incredulous.
"Well, I told you you'd have to take a blood pressure test tonight so here I am."
"How did you find out where I live?"
"Oh that! Well, the little girl with the red hair told me your name was Kate and you told me you brought your father in so I checked on the computer all the male patients who were admitted last night and checked their next of kins until I found a Kate. More precisely a Katherine. You'll be happy to know that you were the only one by that name admitted last night. And your address was registered." Lanie explained, inviting herself in the apartment. Nice flowers. Boyfriend seeking forgiveness?"
"Mr. Castle, actually." Kate answered before opening wide eyes.
Why was she telling that to the not so nice nurse? Why was she letting her into her home?
"Well, well, I'd say you got yourself quite a friend here Kate! Now roll up your sleeve."
So, what do you think of this second chapter?
Still interested in reading this story?
;-)