FOUR
Kate couldn't move or breathe. She was sure her mind was playing tricks on her.
Alive? No one could be alive. She knew it. The rescuer's CO knew it. The news crews knew it. It just wasn't possible.
…was it?
"Hurry! C'mon! Get that stretcher!"
"Jesus." Kate breathed out as Alexis clawed onto her forearm.
"My dad," she pleaded, "it has to be my dad."
Looking over at the girl whose face had lit with hope, Kate remained speechless. God, was it possible? Could Rick be alive? Could he have survived a blast that absolutely should have killed him?
Twenty-one hostages had been in that bank and seeing how unlikely it seemed that any of them survived, it seemed even more unlikely that multiple people had survived. Were that the case, then what were the odds that Richard Castle was that lone survivor? Less than five percent, statistically speaking. But it was a chance and—god—it was more of a chance than she'd had when she woke up that morning.
"Can you see? Can you see anything?"
Kate skimmed her eyes across the scene at Alexis's frantic request. The heavy equipment still blocked most of her view, but she was able to see two men carrying an orange stretcher between them jogging up past the fractured SWAT van. "There," she said, pointing through the crowd. "They're taking in a stretcher now."
Alexis stood up on her toes in a futile attempt to get a better view. "Will we see them? Will we see who they bring out?"
"I…I don't…" Kate's voice drifted off as she too craned her neck, but not in the direction of the rubble. Kate gazed towards where the EMT's had originated and, behind the SWAT van, she could just barely see the faint flickering of ambulance lights.
Turning to Alexis she said, "Stay here, okay? Maybe you'll be able to see, but I'm going to try and find that ambulance, okay?" When the girl nodded in conformation, Kate took off towards her right, weaving her way through the crowd and the preexisting barriers.
If one of the hostages was being pulled from the wreckage, that individual had spent over a day buried beneath concrete. Clearly, they would not be in the best of shape. Thus, Kate could only assume that the EMT's would rush them to the hospital, which meant she needed to be quick as well.
Making her way all the way around the cordoned off area took Kate far longer than she would have wanted, even at her jogging pace. When she finally reached the area where the ambulance had pulled in, she pulled her badge from her hip and cradled it in her palm, ready to use it in defense of anyone who stopped her. At the edge of a blue, NYPD wooden barrier, she met her first obstacle.
A uniformed man stepped up and blocked her path. She held up her badge, not bothering to look him in the face, and moved around him, but he jumped to his left, blocking her. "I'm sorry officer-"
"This is a detective's badge." She spat at the man she presumed to be a rookie.
"Sorry, detective—ma'am," the rookie stumbled, "but I was told not to let anyone through here."
"Look I—I don't want to go near the scene, I just want to see who they're putting in that ambulance."
He shook his head. "Sorry, I can't let anyone through."
"Then pretend you didn't see me." She retorted before jumping the barrier with the skill of a college track all-star. As she saw commotion in the area, Kate sprinted towards the back of the ambulance where, once again, she was barricaded, that time by a man who wore a uniform no different from the one she'd borrowed the day before.
"Ma'am you need to stay back."
She looked at the other man imploringly. Displaying her badge she breathed out, "Please. Please! My partner was in that bank and I—I need to know if—if…"
The EMT glanced behind him, peeking his head just around the edge of the ambulance doors. Turning back to Kate he asked. "White male?"
Her heart skipped a beat. "Yes." Was this possible? Could she dare to be excited? Her betraying mind told her there was no way; it wasn't possible but, oh god, could it be?
The EMT stepped aside. "Be quick; they're trying to get out of here."
As she darted around him, too frantic to bother with a thank you, Kate's world moved in slow motion. She could feel the rustle of the breeze against her cheek, bringing with it the still metallic and dust filled scent of the air as well as a hint of antiseptic from the inside of the ambulance. The gravel and soot crunched on the ground beneath her boot. Her heart leapt up into her esophagus with each beat.
Kate rounded the corner of the ambulance door, but she couldn't see anything other than the backs of the two EMT's hooking up monitors and machines to their patient. Resisting the urge to rush forward and shove them out of the way, she mentally reviewed just how many of those twenty-one hostages could have been considered a "white male" but she could not recall. God, what a terrible detective she was, but she'd been so distracted with Castle, his face, his hands, his everything, that she'd simply failed to notice.
"White male" was such a generic descriptor that could classify dozens of different types of people. The patient in the ambulance could have been a young man just out of his teens who had gone into the bank to cash a paycheck so he'd have spending money for the week. He could have been a middle aged business man doing a transaction for his employer. He could have been an older man looking to take out a savings bond for a grandchild. Any number of scenarios existed and only one of them was "world famous author."
When one of the EMT's moved towards the front of the ambulance Kate caught her first glimpse of the man on the gurney. Specifically, she could see his shoe. Her heart stuttered at the sight of the black loafer, large in size. God, oh god. Her heart wanted to believe it so badly, but her brain simply could not—not without more proof.
The tips of her fingers beginning to tremble, Kate took one more step forward and ducked her head for a better view. Black jeans—his signature—once so crisp in their color were now covered in soot and other debris.
Oh god, could it be? Could it be true? The first person pulled from the wreckage that should have destroyed all human life was the one she longed for, body and soul?
Her jaw beginning to rattle and her knees so unstable she could barely move, she slid her feet forward against the ground, desperate to try and get a glimpse. She wouldn't believe it—not until she saw his face. When the second EMT moved, a rattled gasp escaped her lips.
There he was—blue shirt, dark blazer, the bottom of his chin and the crest of his nose.
"Castle…CASTLE!"
Kate wasn't even sure where she found the strength to do anything more than croak let alone scream so loud that she drew the attention of the EMTs.
The shorter of the two looked at her with great shock, asking, "You know this man?"
With a trembling hand she held up her badge, "He's my partner, Richard Castle. Is he—is he all right?"
The man's expression turned from surprised to grave. "Low breath sounds, sluggish pulse, he's barely alive. We've got to get him out of here. C'mon," he beckoned her forward with a gloved hand. "Tell us his stats on the way."
She didn't hesitate for even a millisecond before diving forward into the vehicle. As the doors shut behind her she took a seat on the very edge of the bench furthest away from the medical equipment. The EMTs were speaking to each other and to the driver to radio ahead to the hospital, but all Kate could hear was static; her brain was screaming too loudly.
Castle's alive, Castle's alive, Castle's alive.
"Ma'am?" the EMT said, drawing her attention back to the vehicle.
"Detective Beckett." She corrected. The EMT nodded and proceeded to ask her detailed questions about Castle and his medical history. She answer them as best she could; thankfully the writer was not shy at all and had told her many things, like his allergy to a certain type of antibiotics and how (to his disappointment) he had not had any major surgeries in his life.
Satisfied with all she could give them, the EMT turned back to work as the ambulance rumbled away from the scene. As Kate glimpsed the crowd of onlookers outside the small window of the ambulance doors, she remembered Alexis for the first time. Cursing under her breath, she pulled out her phone and texted a brief message to Esposito and asking him to retrieve Alexis and bring her to the hospital. He responded almost immediately with, 10-4.
With her phone back in her pocket, Kate turned her eyes towards the man before her. The EMTs were hooking him up to monitors and machines. They had cut off his shirt and jacket and had his hands across his belly as they attached IVs. She wanted to touch him, but also did not want to interfere so she reached out her hand tentatively towards his left leg. His pants were torn at the ankle, exposing a few inches of skin.
Kate slipped her hand in the torn spot and smoothed her fingers against his leg. His skin was cool to the touch, but still soft and supple, not waxy. That was a good sign, wasn't it? If his blood was still flowing to his extremities his body had not shut down entirely yet, right? He would be okay. He just—he had to be okay.
Sucking in a trembling breath, Kate shut her eyes and a tear dripped down her cheek. God, she couldn't lose him again—not in barely more than a day. He had to make it. He had to pull through. He had to—for Alexis. For them. He had to make because she knew if he didn't he'd be furious with himself for losing the opportunity to regale them with his dramatic tales of survival.
"C'mon Castle." She coached, barely above a whisper. "You've come this far; you have to hold on. You have to stay with me."
"My Dad! My Dad! Where's my Dad?"
Alexis came barreling towards Kate the moment she spotted her across the emergency room waiting area. She ran with such force that she actually slid a few inches across the tile floor when she attempted to stop, her eyes frantic, her hair swirling wildly behind her. Esposito trailed several steps behind her at a speed-walking pace.
Kate turned and approached her, cautioning arms outstretched. "The doctors are working on him now; we can't see him yet."
"Is he all right? Where is he!?"
"Alexis." Kate caught the girl by her shoulders and held her steady while being as gentle as possible. "They're trying to help him now but he's—he's very sick. He-"
"He's alive. He's alive and he's going to be fine." The young red-head said defiantly before twisting away from Kate's grasp.
Defeated, Kate turned her gaze towards the floor and hugged her arms close to her chest. She wanted to believe that—she really did. She needed Castle to be okay, but she was a cop and knew all too well that just because you wanted something bad enough didn't mean it would come true.
Being in the ambulance with Castle had been a mixture of joy and agony for Kate. On one hand, she got to look at his face one more time—the thing she'd been dreaming about the prior night. She was able to touch his skin and feel his presence, however muted. Yet, being in the ambulance also forced her to bear witness to the medical intervention he needed. She had anticipated the IVs and various tubes, but during the ride the lead EMT was deeply concerned about the writer's blood oxygen level and so he decided to intubate him in addition to giving him drugs to speed his heart rate.
Watching this procedure was almost too much for Kate to handle, but it also came with a cruel sense of irony. Not even six months prior their positions had been reversed. He was the one watching medical professionals desperately try to save her as her heart stopped beating again and again in the back of an ambulance. Thankfully, Castle's heart had not stopped –nor had his breathing, technically. Both were just very, very slow.
The moment they arrived in the ER he was whisked away by the nurses into the closest trauma room. She had tried to inquire about his condition several times, but each time the nurses dismissed her easily saying that the doctors were still assessing his condition and she would be updated when they knew more.
Kate wanted to grab them, shake them and scream. Didn't they understand? Didn't they understand that this man was her entire world? Didn't they understand that she had spent the prior twenty-seven hours thinking he was dead and now that he was alive all she wanted to do was curl her body around his and never let go?
Evidently, they did not, because they treated her no differently than an annoying gnat. Fortunately, nearly an hour had passed since they arrived at the hospital so Kate was hoping for an update sooner than later. That, or she'd go insane from the waiting.
"How is he really?" Esposito whispered to her once Alexis was out of earshot, pacing the hallway.
Kate gave him a helpless shrug. "They seemed really concerned about his blood oxygen levels in the ambulance; that's about all I got out of them."
"Well shit yeah." Espo commented. "He was under a building in a sealed vault. It's amazing he's alive at all. Sorry." He added quickly, presumably at her unappreciative expression.
"What if he doesn't wake up, Espo?" she asked softly.
The male detective rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry; I'm sure he's dying to tell us all about how he survived a building falling on him."
Despite herself, Kate did let out a small chuckle as she had thought almost the exact same thing. Clearing her throat to alleviate the emotion, she asked, "How was the scene?"
"They set up a tent as a makeshift morgue. Had about six bodies out when I picked up Alexis."
"God." Kate commented.
"I left Ryan there; he's going to text me with updates."
Kate nodded and then allowed him to step away and make a call. With him gone, she instinctually reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. The home screen told her she had a new text message from her father. She taped the icon to read it and cringed as she did.
Breaking news report says Richard Castle was pulled from the wreckage of that bank bomb...?
Shit. How had the news...? Damn. It must have been one of the uniforms or an EMT that recognized the name and tipped them off the reporters. Just perfect. She knew the NYPD wouldn't confirm anything—not this early—but if his name was out there it was sure to cause a frenzy, just what they didn't want.
Not wanting to leave her father with misinformation, Kate quickly typed back: Castle was in the bank. He's still hanging on, but in bad shape
Her father's reply was almost instant. I'm so sorry Katie. Keep me updated. Let me know if you need anything.
She thanked him and then slipped her phone back into her pants pocket. For several moments she waited patiently until her partner ended his phone call. Then, she informed him of the leaked story so he could tell Gates, who would tell the commissioner so a statement could be prepared. Before Kate could walk away again, Esposito grabbed her by the forearm as he said, "Yo."
She looked at him curiously for a moment before he handed over his cell phone. His chatting conversation with Ryan was displayed on the screen and Kate gazed down at the last incoming message. 19 bodies out; no more survivors in the vault.
Oh god.
Looking back up at him dumbly, she said, "Castle's…he's the only…"
Esposito nodded grimly. He glanced briefly over Kate's shoulder then met her eye again. "Want me to tell her?"
Kate turned her head so she could catch a glimpse of Alexis pacing and wringing her hands. God, what a terrible fate for the girl. Her grandmother was dead; her father barely alive. Though technically a more favorable outcome than they'd had that morning, the uncertainty of Castle's condition almost made it worse.
"No…no just wait a little bit. Maybe they'll update us on Castle soon," Kate said as she turned back to her colleague. His solemn expression made her stomach flip in her gut again. God, it was too much; it was all too much. "I'm just going to um…I need…"
"Go." He nodded. "I'll stay with Alexis."
Kate moved to step away but promised, "I'm not going far; just need some air." Espo nodded her on and she turned towards the ER exit, not even sure where she was going.
A/N: I know there was some debate in the reviews about whether or not Martha is a minor character. In my mind, she's not a major character and therefore is a minor one sorry for those of you that disagree.
Thanks again for your reviews.