Author's Note: Happy American Thanksgiving! Hope you enjoy this next small chapter in the story... it's becoming quite the fun fic for me to write, so thanks for the positive feedback. Review if you would like!
Disclaimer: I wouldn't be renting if I owned 'em.
...
They lead her down a million halls, a maze that's never ending.
The hallway is never ending as she follows the shorter woman, her heart rate picking up at the pace they are walking. He is somewhere in this hospital in a condition she has absolutely no clue about.
They pass several different reception areas for various ailments and specialties, none of which the receptionist seems keen on stopping in front of. They turn this way and that and she now knows that she would never be able to find her way back to that initial place.
When they stop, she takes in her surroundings as the woman goes to the desk to tell them who she is. Surgical waiting room. That's what it says on the wall above the desk, and then it seems everything goes in slow motion.
"Excuse me, Miss…"
"Beckett… Kate Beckett. Where's Castle?"
"He was actually just moved to another room, so the doctor will be out shortly to explain what happened. If you can just wait out here for a moment, they'll be right with you."
"He's alive?" she says, trying to read into what the woman had said.
"I'll let the doctor tell you all the details."
She sits, waiting for someone to come out of the double doors and speak to her. She wants someone with her at that moment, but still hesitates to call anyone for fear of worrying them too much to soon. Kate Beckett against the world… that's how she liked to face everything… alone. Or with him…
When she arrived, the flowers were sitting on her desk waiting for her, a to go cup was beside them, and she read the short note that accompanied both.
"I know that today is one of those days, Kate. I know that you like to deal with it on your own, but I want you to know that I'm here when you need me, and I'm ready to face every single moment with you… the good and the bad… the past and the future. I'm picking you up for lunch at noon, so be ready, because today isn't going to be a sad day for you Katherine Beckett… I won't let it be. – RC"
It was the anniversary of her mother's death, and he knew. He knew that she usually dealt with the day in her own way… on her own. That wall that she built up around her heart though… around the memory of her mother's death and everything surrounding it… it had come down because of him. He chipped away at every little piece of it until it was nothing but dust at her feet. If she ever tried to rebuild even a piece of it, like she would have today, he would spend the time shaking the foundation under her to keep it from taking hold.
She looks at the mound of paperwork on her desk and checks the clock as well. She was most often the first person in the precinct, so slipping out before Gates came in was something she could easily get away with. Grabbing the flowers and the coffee, she made her way to the elevator, pulling out her phone.
"Castle."
"Hey Castle… you wanna play hooky today?"
"Kate?"
"I'm on my way over… we're going skating."
"Are you sure?" he asks, knowing that was a pastime she shared with her mother.
"An opportunity to watch you fall on your ass repeatedly… yes, I'm sure. Besides, I feel like she's watching me today, you know… making sure that I'm okay. I think that she would love nothing more than to see the two of us together on the ice."
"I love you."
"You have no way of understanding how much I love you Richard Castle… absolutely no idea."
"Miss Beckett?"
She snaps out of her thoughts when she hears someone calling out to her, and her expression goes blank when she sees the blue scrubs standing in front of her.
They talk about what happened, but she can barely hear them.
"Where is he? What happened?"
"He was in a car accident, Miss Beckett… he was pinned in the driver's side, but they were able to get him out. He had a collapsed lung on one side and some internal injuries that took us a bit to find. We believe that we found everything, but the next few hours and days will tell us if there is anything we missed. There appears to be a lot of external bruising, so we are keeping close watch on the surrounding areas. He lost a lot of blood, but he fought through it."
She lets all of it sink in… the accident… pinned in the car… the internal injuries… it's all too much for her to picture in her mind, and she clutches a hand to her stomach as she sits back in the chair she was in before.
"When can I see him?"
"They are moving him right now… I want you to be prepared for what you're going to see though. There are lots of monitors and tubes and wires connected, and when we move him, we're going to take out the breathing tube. Hopefully he will be able to breathe on his own, but we'll have to see what happens when I go in there. He should wake up in the next few hours or so, so don't be alarmed if he doesn't respond to you right away."
"Can he have other visitors? I want to call his mother and daughter." She asks, knowing that now was the time that they needed to be here.
"It can only be one at a time right now so we can more closely monitor him, but they are certainly welcome. I'll have them take you back when we have him settled." He says, nodding and walking away before being called back.
"Doctor?"
"Yes?" he says turning.
"He's going to be okay, right?" she asks with tears still in her eyes and a shaky voice.
"As I said… the next few hours and days are going to tell us if there was anything we missed."
She nods, telling him thank you before letting out a shaky breath and pulling out her phone.
"Katherine?"
"Martha, hi."
"I thought you and Richard had a big dinner date tonight, darling. Is something the matter?"
"I um… I need you to call Alexis and I need the two of you to meet me down at Presbyterian Hospital. Rick was in an accident… there was surgery involved… I…" she falters then, finally having to put into words what happened getting the best of her.
"Is he going to be okay?" Martha asks with the same shaky voice.
"They say he'll be fine… I'm just."
"I know dear… we'll be there as soon as we can."