Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for the reviews and story alerts, etc! I have never gotten such glowing feedback from so many people and it makes me think I must be doing something right! And I hate to spoil it all by making you all mad at me with this chapter. It's short, for one, and among other things may not be exactly what any of us wanted. It sort of took on a life of its own, but I PROMISE I am not done with it yet!
Castle's eyes moved to the door as she opened it. Beckett felt her heart give a little jump as their gazes met across the room. She smiled and he returned it, so glad to see those eyes and that smile after such a long week without them. There were no words in those few moments as she crossed to his bedside and immediately took his hand. He seemed a bit taken aback by this, staring at their clasped hands as if he wasn't sure how to respond before looking back up at her. She took a seat in the chair beside him, their gazes never once breaking.
They sat like that for a long time before she finally spoke. "You saved my life." It was a simple statement, but it conveyed all of her gratitude and emotion.
"I don't remember," he replied after a pause, looking away for the first time in minutes. He seemed to just notice that one of her arms was in a sling and looked genuinely worried. "You're hurt."
She looked down at the injury. "Oh, no… Well, I am, but it's nothing too serious."
"Sorry." He looked away again, obviously guessing where the injury must have come from.
"Rick, look at me." When he did, she continued, "It's just a hairline fracture. I'll have full use of my shoulder in a few weeks. It's a small price to pay compared to yours."
He didn't speak for a long time after that, for which he apologized. The medication they had him on made it hard for him to stay awake for very long, and also explained why he seemed so…subdued.
"It's strange," he mused after a moment. "I have this blank space where the past week has been. The last thing I remember is something about the Old Haunt and then I wake up here with them telling me what's happened."
Kate smiled at the memory. "You were trying to convince me to go out for drinks to celebrate getting our guy." When she continued with the rest, however, it was gone. "I had just conceded when you pushed me out of the way. I didn't have time to think why you'd done it before I realized you'd been shot."
"Why did he do it?"
"Revenge. The man we arrested that night was his brother, and once he figured out why we were there, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He saw my badge, so I was his target. I guess you saw him before he could get a shot off," she told him.
Rick squeezed her hand slightly but once again said nothing for a while. "You called me Rick," he commented, not looking at her.
She looked down at their hands, a little sheepish. They both knew she hadn't called him Rick for a long time—not since their first case together. He had been Castle ever since at first to maintain a sense of professionalism, and then as a force of habit. She opened her mouth to tell him why—that she'd nearly lost him and had been thinking a lot in the past few days about what she would change if he pulled through—because she knew if she didn't tell him now, she'd find some excuse not to do it later.
"I—"
A nurse interrupted her as she poked her head in the door. "Detective Beckett, I'm sorry to disturb you, but Mr. Castle needs to rest."
She nodded and thanked the woman, who entered the room and began checking Castle's vitals. Blue eyes stared back at her when she looked at him with an apologetic look. "We can talk more later, okay?"
She knew he could tell that she had been about to tell him something. He was too good at reading people not to know that, but he only gave her a slightly teasing smile and said, "I'll hold you to that, Detective."
With one final squeeze of his hand, she let go and headed for the door. Fingers on the handle, she turned back to him. "I'll see you later, Castle."
He only smiled and repeated the farewell. "See you."
Slipping through the door, Kate realized how close she'd just been to telling him everything about how she felt. Taking a few steps down the corridor, she stopped, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. Letting that breath out, she told herself she would never let herself get that close again. It would only be a mistake. It would never work out and their partnership and friendship would most likely end. No, she determined as she bid farewell to Martha and Alexis in the waiting room and left the hospital, it would never work. And with that thought, it went right back to how it had always been between them.
Don't kill me, please! Like I said I'm not done! I'll be writing up the next chapter within the next week or so (I don't know when since school has just started) and get it posted as soon as possible! I am not going to leave it here, I promise. I just couldn't see Kate jumping in so quickly. She seems to have a tendency to talk herself out of things, especially when they concern her personal life, so this made sense. Please review! Even if you absolutely hated it!