DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC.

Chapter Six

"There now," one of the night nurses stated as she pulled the needle out of Kate's IV. "That should help with the pain tonight."

"Thank you," Kate stated quietly as she leaned back into the pillows of her bed. "I really appreciate the help."

The nurse smiled at Kate. "It's my job to keep you comfortable."

"Well I think that I might just be able to get some sleep."

The nurse nodded. "Sleep is the best thing for you."

With that said, the nurse disappeared and Kate found the pain lessening. With a yawn, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her spinning mind. There were so many questions left unanswered. Montgomery had told her that there was someone else that knew what had happened back in the day... the events that led up to her mother's death among others. That person who knew was either the person who had taken a shot at her, or had ordered the hit in the first place.

And now that things are somewhat out in the open we're all going to have to be careful, she thought to herself as she began to drift off to sleep.

...

For Castle, the drive back to his apartment was one of the longest drives that he ever took. There was so much weighing on his mind. He felt like he was standing at the middle of a crossroads, in one direction was the uncertain future of starting something with Kate. In the other, was a certain future without her by his side. Castle wasn't sure how much longer his resolve would hold out. He knew as well as Josh did that in terms of stability, Josh was the sure pick.

And while he only wanted what was best for Kate, and even though he was willing to step aside for Kate to be happy there was a part of him that knew that he was the one that was best for her. If only there was a way to make her see that, he thought to himself as he made his way up to his apartment. I think she sees it, she did say that it was up to us to find someone willing to stand with us as we face the battles... and then she looked at me. Could that possibly mean that she's willing to stand with me?

Castle shook the thought from his head. There was so much that he needed to figure out, starting with whether or not Kate had heard what he had admitted to her when she lay there in the moments that she had been shot. "If I can only talk to her without Josh being around," he muttered to himself as he let himself into his apartment.

"Dad?" asked a quiet voice.

Castle looked up to see Alexis and his mother standing on the stairs, clearly waiting for him. "Alexis?" he asked.

"Is Kate—"

"She's fine," Castle assured, smiling as relief flooded their faces. "She woke up a little while ago."

"Did you get to talk to her?" Martha asked as she walked down the stairs to join her son.

"A little."

"Did you tell her how you feel?" Alexis asked.

Castle shook his head. "I tried, but then Josh showed up."

"The doctor?" his daughter asked.

Castle grimaced. "The very same one."

"He works at that hospital?" Martha asked.

Castle nodded and slumped down onto the couch. "If you can believe it."

"Honestly I can't."

"I'm so sorry Dad,"

"Yeah," Castle agreed. "I'm sorry too."

"What are you going to do son?"

Castle shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly I don't know."

"You love the girl don't you?"

"More than anything," he replied.

"Then you've got to fight for her," Alexis exclaimed.

Castle smiled sadly at his daughter. "It's not so simple."

"How so?"

"How can I fight for something that might not even be there in the first place?" he asked. "I mean I could have been kidding myself for the past three years for all I know. Kate and I had that conversation you know," he continued. "How we go through so much together, and we never talk about it afterwards. Did you know that I kissed her while we were undercover?"

"Did you really?" Alexis asked, eyes wide.

"It was the most soul-searing kiss that I've ever—"

"Too much information Richard,"

"Sorry," he apologized. "But we never spoke about it. We're locked in a freezer and nearly die in each others arms and yet we never talk about it. There's so much that we haven't talk about..."

"Sounds like all that's what you really need to talk about," Martha pointed out.

Castle nodded. "And now I don't know if I'll get the chance. How can I confess my feelings when she's still attached to that rat Josh?"

"Oh darling I doubt that he's a rat," Martha stated.

"Well," Castle sighed. "Maybe not a rat but..."

"Everything will work out Dad," Alexis promised.

"How do you know that?"

"She survived being shot," she continued. "So all you've got to do is tell her how you feel."

"And if she doesn't feel the same?"

"Richard I'm sure that she does,"

"But if she doesn't,"

"Dad, I've seen the way she looks at you,"

"And how is that?" he asked his daughter.

"The same way that you look at her," Alexis stated with a smile.

"Are you sure Alexis?" Castle asked.

Alexis nodded. "So don't worry Dad. I'm sure that it'll all work out."

"Yeah," Castle stated with a nod, that turned into a yawn.

"Oh Richard you're absolutely exhausted," Martha sighed. "Why don't we all call it a night?"

"Sounds like a plan," Castle agreed. "We all need our sleep."

...

A noise invaded her consciousness and Kate just assumed that it was another one of the night nurses. But when she heard hurried whispers she knew that something was amiss. Kate tried to open her eyes, but found that she couldn't.

That's when the panic set in.

And the panic only intensified when she found herself being grabbed by rough, non-nurse hands.

Oh god, she thought worriedly to herself as she drifted back into unconsciousness. I'm being kidnapped.

TBC

Author's Note: Dun, Dun, Dun... :D Sorry gang. But I can't make it too easy for Castle and Beckett or you guys right? See you next Monday and please leave a review!