Kate never wanted to be in this position again, she had lost or nearly lost too many people in her life. As a teenager, she had lost her first love in a drowning accident. It still hurt to think about how Jamie died. Kate had just turned twenty when she lost her mother. She never really got the chance to mourn that loss, because soon after she had her hands full helping her dad. James Beckett turned to alcohol to dull his pain. The loss of his beloved wife, Johanna, was also the loss of his best friend. In many ways Kate was a lot like her dad, very reserved with few close friends and she rarely dated. Besides, she was much too busy getting through college while trying to keep her dad from drinking himself to death. She had to be strong for her dad, for them both. Kate had soon built thick walls around her heart.

Richard Castle had always been her favorite author. His books had helped her survive the loss of her mom and get through the long nights looking after her father. His stories created a world for Kate to escape to, where the good guys always won; bad guys were always caught and paid for what they did. Derek Storm had become her hero; he was always strong, smart and steadfast. In Kate's mind Richard Castle had become one and the same as the man he wrote about. The loss of her mom, and perhaps in a small way, Castle's stories pushed Kate into her current career. She had always liked puzzles and reading mysteries allowed her to see all the ways to find out who done it. This skill became very useful when she became one of the youngest detectives in Homicide.

She finally got to meet her hero when she had to investigate a murder that mirrored one of Richard Castle's stories. Naturally, he had to be interviewed but secretly she was thrilled. However, when she met Rick, she was horribly disappointed. He was nothing like Derek Storm. Castle was such an outrageous flirt. He was annoying, often silly, talking way too much and always saying or doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time. He was immature or childish depending on his mood that day and never listened to her or followed her instructions. He acted like what she did was a game and he wanted to play at being a cop. He said highly inappropriate things to her and others, usually very suggestive or just plain smutty. How could this man ever have created Derek Storm?

Rick often reminded her that what he wrote was fiction, there was no Derek. Kate soon learned to understand and even appreciate the differences between the character and his author. She refused to admit it to anyone but she felt an instant attraction to him. He was handsome and could be unbelievably charming when he wanted to...and he was much more complex than Derek Storm. What she found so amazing, was that his writer's mind could detach from the flesh and blood realities of a murder case and see it as a puzzle to solve, a story to be told. His mind could pull new ideas, connections and possibilities almost from thin air. He helped her to think outside the box. Her solve rate on cases had improved since he had come to the 12th. Rick Castle drove her crazy but now she could not imagine a day without him in it because he had not only punched great big holes in the wall she'd built around her heart, he had pretty much knocked it down entirely.

Beckett's thoughts were interrupted by nurse's offer for food, which she passed on but soon after her eyes slowly began to close. Kate woke instantly when she felt his hand move in hers.

"Kate?"

"Hey, welcome back!"

"I don't have the plague?" His voice was weak, dry and raspy. "I'm not dead?"

"If you're dead, then I'm dead."

"Well if I am dead, then this must be heaven because I'm looking at an absolute angel."

Kate could feel herself blush as he continued to look at her with his beautiful blue eyes. "Does this look like heaven to you, Castle? Besides only the good die young. So you'll probably live forever." She saw him smile but the smile faded quickly as he winced in pain. "How do you feel?"

"Awful! I guess that means I'm not dead then because I hurt pretty much everywhere."

"You've been pretty sick. Do you remember anything that happened last night?"

"I was reading and felt sick to my stomach. I made it to the bathroom and I lost my dinner...but after that, it's pretty much a blank. I vaguely remember some rather vivid dreams and interesting fantasies. They must have given me some really good drugs?"

Kate rolled her eyes at him but also smiled because he was back to being "bad boy Rick".

"Wait, if I don't have the plague...what is all this stuff on me for?" He noticed for the first time that she was holding his hand. "Are you OK, Kate?"

"I'm fine, no plague, well not so far. You, however, have food poisoning from all the mushrooms on your burger."

"No way! I've eaten at Remy's hundreds of time."

"The doctor called the restaurant and several other customers felt sick after eating the mushrooms. Of course they didn't wolf down two huge cheeseburgers smothered in grilled onions and mushrooms. As a precaution, the health department confiscated the mushrooms from other restaurants that use the same supplier and are having them tested."

Rick started to turn pale at the mention of food. "Oh, God! Please don't mention food. Is that why my stomach hurts so much?"

"I'll have the nurse get you something." Kate tried to get up but Castle wouldn't release her hand.

"Don't go!"

She smiled and gently freed her hand. "I can't go anywhere, remember? I'm only walking right over here." She walked over to the intercom and pressed the button to talk. "He's awake and not feeling well, stomach cramps." Kate walked back to his bed but she did not sit down or reach for his hand again. "The nurse asked me to let her know when you finally woke up."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Not sure…a long time! There are no clocks in here and they took both our watches. She is the third or fourth nurse we've had since we got here."

"Oh yeah, I was going to tell you last night but you were sleeping when I got out of the shower. I didn't want to get your hopes up but I finally got to talk to the head guy before they dragged me down here. Since they don't know if we even have the plague, I asked them not to destroy the watches and your ring...at least until they confirm if we are sick or not. He agreed to wait."

Kate felt her heart beat faster as the great news sunk in. Kate took a step forward to kiss him but the inner door to the isolation room opened just then. "Thank you! Thank you, so much."

He had suspected for a long time that the watch and ring were more than gifts; they were very special to her. He hoped that someday she would trust him enough to tell him why. Rick just nodded and smiled at her as if he had done nothing special.

AN: This is the one thing in the series that I disagreed with. On the show, Kate told Rick about her mom in the fourth or fifth episode but I don't think she would do that so soon. That's why he still doesn't know about her mom in my story...at least not yet.