"Castle," Rick answered his phone. It had been 2 weeks since his and Kate's fight about the Hamptons, and they were doing much better. He had taken the day off from working at the Precinct to do some work on his website, mostly answering fan questions and signing autographs. Right now it was 1 pm, and he was already bored.
"Hey Castle, it's Ryan."
"Ryan! How's it going, man? You would not believe how boring it gets to write your own name after you've done it fifty times…"
"Yeah, um," Ryan sounded upset. "Listen, Castle, I have something to tell you. Kate is in the hospital."
Rick jumped out of his chair. "What? What happened? She didn't get shot again, did she?" His heart was racing.
"No, she… she has some broken ribs, possible a punctured lung, some gashes… We were trying to take down a drug lord, and he got physical. Knocked the gun out of her hand and wrestled her to the floor. He gave Javi a pretty bad concussion when he tried to jump in and save Kate."
Rick ran his hand through his hair. Then he grabbed his jacket and keys.
"Where is she?"
"Lennox Hill."
"Okay, let me get a cab... I'll be there as soon as I can. Ryan, she's conscious, right?"
Ryan paused and Castle started to panic. "Ryan!"
"I'll pick you up, man, I took a detour from following the ambulance. Be outside your place in 5."
"Ryan, how bad is it? Ryan!" The phone line went dead and Castle started to lose it. He ran out the door, slamming it behind him and hitting the elevator button repeatedly until the elevator opened.
The second Ryan's car pulled up, Castle yanked the door open and got inside. Ryan looked nervous and worried.
"Hey, Castle."
"Dammit, Ryan, tell me how bad it is."
Ryan let out a deep breath. "Not horrible... but not good either."
Castle was hit with a wave of fear.
"Kate was unconscious when the ambulance arrived," Ryan said gently, flipping on his turn signal and taking a right. "Javi was conscious, but barely. He only has a concussion. But Kate… she fought really hard, Rick. You would have been proud of her. This guy was strong, she gave it all she could."
Rick shook his head. "I would have been even more proud of her if she had stayed out of it. Hey, why wasn't she wearing a vest?"
Ryan frowned and braced herself. "Umm… she didn't think she needed one."
Castle groaned. "How could you let her do that?"
"Castle, you know her. No one can stop her, or change her mind."
Castle stared out the window at the slow traffic. He sighed as Ryan turned on his siren and raced to the hospital.
"Yeah, I know," he mumbled. He was so angry with himself for not going with her today. And he was scared, because he felt like Ryan was holding out on him.
Ryan parked illegally on the street in front of the hospital and they rushed in. Ryan flashed his badge at the first nurse they saw.
"Detective Ryan, NYPD. Two of my partners were just brought in."
The nurse nodded. "The man is upstairs in room 217, and the woman is with him, being prepped for surgery."
Castle and Ryan looked at each other and then sped to catch the elevator that was closing. Once inside, Castle fidgeted nervously. If Kate was being prepped for surgery, she wasn't dying, right? Or was it worse than they thought?
The elevator opened and they ran out. Ryan figured out which way they needed to go, and then they started off running again down the hallway. The door to room 217 was open, so they walked through it. There were two beds: Javier was lying in a bed next to the window, his head being wrapped up by a nurse. Another two nurses were tending to Kate in the bed closer to the door, moving her onto a gurney. Rick rushed to her side.
"Kate? Kate, honey, can you hear me?" Kate was mostly covered with a sheet, but he could see a cut on her forehead and a black eye. Her hair was tangled, and her eyes were closed.
"Sir, are you her – ' a nurse started to say. Rick looked up at her.
"I'm her fiancé," he said, his eyes pleading. "Is she gonna be okay?"
The nurse locked eyes with him. "She is in a lot of pain. Four of her ribs broke, and one punctured her lung. Her right ankle is also twisted, possible fractured. We have to get her to surgery now – time is of the essence."
Rick watched as Kate was wheeled out by 2 other nurses. The nurse he had been talking to touched her hand to his arm and said, "We'll bring someone to get you when she's done," before following the other nurses.
Rick collapsed into a chair facing the beds. Ryan came and sat next to him.
"Javi is asleep, but the nurse said that he suffered a major concussion. No brain damage or skull fractures, so he'll be okay. Just very disoriented for a few days."
" 'Time is of the essence'," Rick repeated, twisting his hands together. "What the hell does that mean?"
Ryan put his hand on Castle's shoulder. "I don't know." They sat there in silence for a while, and then Ryan's phone rang. He answered it, and Castle could hear Jenny's frantic voice. Ryan immediately started to soothe her.
"It's okay, honey, I'm fine….. Javi has a concussion, and Kate broke some ribs and punctured a lung… she's in surgery… yes, Rick is with me….. no, stay home... I want to wait til Javi wakes up… I love you, too. I will. Okay. Bye."
He hung up and sat back down next to Castle. "Jenny says hi, and hopes Kate makes a quick recovery."
Castle nodded but didn't say anything. He knew it wasn't Ryan's fault, but he was jealous. Ryan's wife was fine, and his partner was fine. Meanwhile, Kate was in surgery. And for all he knew, she was fighting for her life. All because she cared more about bringing down bad guys than her own safety.
xxxx
Rick had fallen asleep in his chair, but Ryan shook him to wake him up when Kate was brought back to the room. The nurse informed Castle that they had to place Kate in a medical coma during surgery, but she should wake up within the next 2 days. Javi had also woken up, and after the nurse did a routine check on him to make sure there was no brain damage, she gave him drugs and he fell back asleep.
Rick had pulled his chair next to Kate's bed. He was holding her hand, staring at her face. A doctor came in to check on her, ask Rick a few questions, and wrap up her ankle. He told Rick that until she was awake and they could do some tests on her, they would treat it like a fracture. Rick just nodded numbly. He still couldn't believe this was happening.
Ryan went home shortly after Javi went back to sleep, promising to be back in the morning. It was 9 pm when Rick realized he hadn't called Alexis. He stepped out into the hallway and dialed her cell number.
"Hey dad, what's up?"
"Hey, sweetheart," Rick said shakily. "I wanted you to know, Kate… Kate's in the hospital."
"Oh my god! What happened? Is she okay?"
Rick sighed and rubbed his temples. "She got in a fight with a suspect, and… it's really bad. She's out of surgery, and the nurses say she'll wake up in a day or two… but Alexis, I'm scared," he admitted, trying not to cry. "She just looks so broken, lying here."
Alexis sounded scared, too. "Can I come see her?"
"Yes. Please," Rick said. "We're in room 217 at Lennox Hill."
"I'll be right there, dad. Do you need anything?"
"No," Rick said. He hung up and leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the ground. "Just for her to wake up," he whispered to himself. He went back in the room and sat on the chair next to her bed. He took Kate's hand in his and squeezed it.
"Hey, baby," he whispered. "It's me. I really need you to wake up, because I need you and I love you and Alexis is worried, and so am I, and Kevin, and Javi, and Jenny, and Lanie…." He trailed off, blinking back tears. "And you promised! You promised to be here forever! And I'm gonna hold you to that, because marriage means not breaking promises…"
He stopped, and wiped his eyes.
"This is all my fault, because if I had been there… I wouldn't have let you go without a vest… Kate, why would you do that? You wouldn't be here right now if you had one.." he stopped himself.
"I don't mean to scold you, honey, I'm sorry. I just really wish you would open your eyes. Please? C'mon, open those gorgeous green eyes, the same ones that used to scowl at me with disdain. Open them, and smile at me, and say you love me. C'mon, Kate. Please, honey?"
"Dad?"
Castle looked up at the doorway. Alexis stood there in jeans and a t-shirt, with a long striped cardigan over them. She had tears in her eyes as she walked over to the bed.
"Is she… ," Alexis choked out. "Is she gonna be okay?"
Rick stood up and wrapped his arms around his daughter.
"I don't know."
xxxx
Alexi and Rick had fallen asleep in the couch in the corner of the room. When they woke up the next morning, Javi was staring at them. Rick waved to him, then left the room, mumbling something about finding a nurse. He glanced at Kate longingly as he left. She was the same as the night before.
"Alexis?"
She wiped her eyes. "Hey, Javier. How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright," he shrugged. He gestured to the tray next to his bed. "The food here sucks."
Alexis laughed weakly. Esposito looked at her sympathetically.
"Kate woken up yet?"
Alexis shook her head. "No. Dad said she made it out of surgery okay, but a nurse told him she may not wake up for a few days. He's scared. I am too." She paused. "Javier, what happened to you guys?"
He took a deep breath and stared at his lap. "We were trying to make an arrest, this drug lord who goes by Casanova. We pulled up in front of his place, and Kate insisted on leaving the vests behind and hiding our guns, so we would look peaceful. I felt a little uneasy, but I knew she'd do it whether I joined her or not. So Ryan called for backup, and we went in. We were walking down the alley, when suddenly the guy comes barreling out the side door, trying to make a run for it. He and Kate collide, she pulls her gun, and he gets physical. Knocks the gun out of her hand and punches her in the eye. She tried to hit back, but he just caught her wrist, and used his other hand to hit her again. I tried to pull him off of her, and he threw me back. I hit the brick wall and banged my head, It took a few seconds for me to fade out, and the last thing I saw was blood running down Kate's face from a cut one of his rings made. I tried to yell, but then everything went black." He looked at Alexis, who was in shock.
"I'm just glad he didn't have a gun on him," Javi said somberly. Alexis nodded. They both glanced over at Kate, still asleep on her bed. Javier looked pained and angry. Alexis put her hand on his arm.
"Javier, it's not your fault," she said, trying to make eye contact with him. "Please, just don't be angry with yourself."
Javier laughed to himself. "How is it that you are much smarter and more mature than the rest of us adults?"
Alexis shrugged and smiled. "I don't know." She got up, picking up her bag.
"I'm sorry to go, but I have a class in an hour," Alexis said, heading for the door. "I'll be back later today. "
Javi nodded. "Thanks, Alexis."
xxxx
Rick was sitting by Kate's bed 2 hours later, holding her hand. Javi was asleep again, and Ryan had come through right after Alexis left to check on both Javi and Kate. He told Rick that Jenny wanted to have him and Alexis over for dinner that night, and he agreed to come. He didn't want to leave Kate's side, but you know what they saw about a watched pot…
It was hard for Rick to sit next to her. He could still small a faint trace of her perfume, despite all the hospital-y smells in the room. Her beautiful features were now marred with cuts, scrapes, and bruises. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on Kate's forehead.
"Mhhmm." A small murmur came from Kate lips, and her eyelashes fluttered. Rick snapped to attention.
"Kate?"
Kate made a noise he couldn't understand, and her fingers flexed, then she wrapped them around Rick's hand. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back. He grinned and lifted her hand up to his mouth, kissing it. Then he hit the button next to Kate's bed to call for a nurse.
"She's awake!," He yelled excitedly at the nurse the second she entered. "She mumbled something, and she squeezed my hand, and her eyelashes fluttered!"
The nurse smiled softly. "Alright, let's slowly get her to sit up. We need to do a few quick routine tests. Has she opened her eyes?"
Kate stirred on the bed. "No, not yet," Rick said slowly. "Is that bad?"
"No, not necessarily," the nurse said, shaking her head. "She's just waking up slowly. She was in a medically induced coma."
The nurse put her hand on Kate's shoulder and shook her gently.
"Kate? Can you hear me?"
More groggy mumbling. "Mhhh… yesss.."
The nurse smiled. "Great. Can you open your eyes? Take it slow."
Kate's eyelashes fluttered again, then her eyes slowly started to open. The second her green eyes met Rick's deep blue ones, she smiled weakly.
"Rickk." Her voice was raspy. "Heyy." Rick grinned and took her hand back in his.
"Hey, honey," he said softly, smiling at her lovingly. The nurse watched them with a smile. After a minute or so, she leaned into Kate's line of sight and waved.
"Hello, Kate. I'm Nurse Annie, and I was hoping you could sit up for me. Do you think you could do that?"
Kate nodded, very slowly and weakly. She let go of Rick's hand and pushed herself up, planting her hands on the bed. When she was finally sitting upright, Rick grinned and clapped for her.
"Good job, honey!"
Nurse Annie smiled and put her hand on Kate's back.
"Okay Kate, take two deep breaths."
xxxx
After Kate took all of her tests and had her blood drawn, Nurse Annie left her and Rick alone. Rick sat on Kate's bed next to each to her, their clasped hands resting in his lap.
"I'm so, so grateful you're okay," Rick said to Kate, gazing into her eyes. "I knew you wouldn't break your promise."
Kate smiled. "Never. And I'm really sorry I was so reckless. I should have worn a vest, and I should have thought before I ran into an unpredictable situation."
Rick shook his head. "Shh, don't worry about that right now, okay? All I care about is that we get you home, and you're safe."
She leaned against his shoulder. "Thank you, Rick."
He nodded and kissed her hair. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Don't hate me for putting Kate in danger! But at least she's ok :) Review?