"Rick… Rick… RICK" Lanie shouts one more time to get his attention and regrets it after eyes dart towards her around the emergency room waiting room.
He was pacing up and down the emergency department's waiting room. He was so engrossed in walking back and forth that he never heard her. Ever since he arrived in the back of an ambulance separate from Kate, he had been stressed to the point of exhaustion. He comes to a stop in front of her and she can see the worry on his face. His beautiful face, a face that now has been marred by eight stitches from the middle of his cheek to his lower jaw from a bullet ricocheting off a door hinge and hitting him. When it heals it won't win him any beauty contests. Rick was also hit in his left shoulder but he's still alive and that's all that matters. Kate wasn't the only one who was injured in the attack. While his surgery wasn't life-threatening he didn't want to be going into surgery when Kate was there as well. So along with herself and some ER doctors, they were able to give him Novocaine to remove the bullet that was lodged in his shoulder and stitch him up.
"Lanie, She's been in there for over six hours! They should have at least given us some sort of update by now shouldn't they have?"
"Rick, baby, you've got to understand they're doing everything they are trained to do in order to save her life. And if that means going over the surgical field more than once to make sure they have everything taken care of then that's what they're going to do. It's going to be time consuming but in the long run, it'll save her life." Lanie explains to him.
"Yeah, they better do everything they can to save her. I swear Lanie if I lose her now after we've fought and clawed to get to the relationship we have now, I'll never forgive myself."
Rick Castle just opened up a can of worms and now Lanie is going to peel back the lid…. very carefully.
"Relationship? Richard Edgar Castle! You will go into detail about your last statement… or else I will hurt you in more ways than you already are!" Lanie demands.
Rick stood there in front of Lanie really not understanding what she meant. But when he replayed what he said in his mind again he realizes that he has made a grave error. An error that she will pick apart and now he regrets even opening his mouth.
"Lanie, it's complicated, trust me. But I promise that once we know her prognosis I will tell you everything agreed?"
"Don't think you're off the hook with me Rick Castle. But yes, I agree. Only until we find out her status. After that, all bets are off. Understand?"
All Rick could do was nod his head.
An hour and a half later Kate was still in surgery. There was a commotion at the entryway to the emergency department by the nurse's station. Both Rick and Lanie look to their right down the hallway and see three detectives coming their way placing their badges back under their jackets that are hanging around their necks. They recognize the first two immediately. But the third one kind of has them scratching their heads only because he is walking with a slight limp.
Espo comes directly in front of Lanie who is now standing up and pulls her into a deep meaningful hug. Rick realizes that it's Slaughter standing next to him as Ryan watches the interaction between the M.E. and his best friend.
"How is she doing Lanie?" Esposito asks once he releases her from the hug.
"She's still in surgery. I know the doctor performing the procedure. We went to medical school together. He will be out with an update as soon as he can."
Rick was still eyeing up Slaughter. His presence here was disreputable, to say the least.
Slaughter notices the looks he is receiving from the writer and says something about it.
"Listen Sherlock I don't appreciate the looks you're givin me."
"Slaughter you have no reason to be here. I'm not really sure why you are here." Rick said.
"I'm here because there are things that need to be said and I'm gonna be the one saying 'em. Just park your ass in a plastic chair over there and I'll explain everything to you in a second."
With that said he turns and corrals Ryan and Esposito. They walk about ten feet away, have a short conversation, and then start walking back to the writer.
They're cautious but Slaughter looks at both of the detectives before he starts off the conversation.
"Rick, you need to know a couple of things," Slaughter tells him.
Rick looked at both detectives who have been his friends for a while before he nodded. He had never seen them look so serious before now. And Slaughter never called him by his name. To him, he was always Sherlock.
"We have uncovered some information. Most of this information was compiled from some of my CIs and also what Ryan and Esposito have also put together. What we found out was that you and Beckett were purposely targeted by Caesar Vales. We were surprised to find out that he has people in very high places within the NYPD and the FBI. And this is where our problem lies. We don't know how far up the chain of command the dirty cops go but we found out that Will Sorensen was the one who gave Vales the information that you were working on the mayor's daughter's murder. What we don't understand is how he got that information. According to Gates she never told him who was assigned to the case. We think he was playing the guessing game as to who was assigned to her case. It seems that Vales is trying to cut off all avenues of the investigation into her case. Somehow he's the one responsible for all of this."
"That son of a bitch! Wait till I get my hands around his scrawny little neck I'm going to kill him." Rick promised.
It was Esposito that spoke next.
"Castle, I know that you've had your hands full here with Beckett being shot and everything going on with your own injuries and you probably didn't hear this but you're not going to have to worry about killing Sorensen. Somebody already beat you to it. In the explosion at 54th and 6th Avenue yesterday, an FBI vehicle was obliterated. It was the work of a very powerful car bomb. We think Sorenson who had just got in the car and was beginning to drive away when it exploded was taken out. We have a strong suspicion that he was eliminated by Vales." Esposito finished.
"Well, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Rick says angrily.
Slaughter knew that now was the time to tell Rick what they were going to do. Maybe he could use that anger for a good purpose.
"Listen Rick I get that you're pissed. Vales tried to take out a New York City police detective and her partner. Now we have a plan that we're going to let you in on because we think that you could be the key to bringing Vales down. Are you in?" Slaughter asked.
Before Rick can answer Ethan, he notices someone at the nurse's station he knows very well. Without a word, he walks away from the trio of detectives and over to the nurse's station to meet the man in person. The three detectives look at each other with questioning looks on their faces.
"Jim, I'm sorry you had to come to the hospital once again. Are you doing okay?" Rick asks as he extends his hand for a handshake.
"I've been better Rick. Tell me, how is she doing?" Jim asks as he accepts Rick's hand and places his left hand over Rick's in a comforting gesture.
"She's still in surgery but we expect to hear something very soon from the doctor."
"Walk with me Rick, we need to talk," Jim said.
Both men walk down the corridor past the nurse's station and find an unused family room. After getting comfortable Rick looked at Jim searching his face for what he wanted to talk about. He didn't have to wait long.
"Rick, Katie told me that if she was ever in a situation where she would be fighting for her life she wanted me to tell you that you were it for her. You are her one and done. Keep in mind that I try not to get involved with my daughter's love life but for the last four or five months she was constantly talking about you and what your future might become. Rick, I can tell you that she is head over heels in love with you. But I just want you to know that you both have traveled a bumpy road to get to where you are now. I don't want you to jeopardize everything you worked towards just because she hasn't told you yet."
"Jim, first I need to tell you that I am the reason that Kate is fighting for her life in the operating room. It was my idea to go and interview our suspect. If we didn't go there, we wouldn't be here now."
"Rick, you are not going to accept the blame for this. You were attacked by a drug dealer in broad daylight. So don't be thinking like that."
"In that case I thank you. I still hold myself responsible for what happened. I guess with all that's going on concerning the mayor's daughter's murder, she hasn't updated you recently but then again how could she because she only just told me how she felt earlier yesterday." There was no way that he was going to tell Jim that he and Kate had taken their relationship to the next level. Only because he wanted to live a long and fruitful life.
"She did now, did she?"
Rick suddenly became very aware of the floor. His eyes never left the tops of his shoes.
"All kidding aside Rick, I think she made the right choice. You care about her, I can tell. So tell me exactly what were you two doing when the both of you were attacked?"
Rick slowly lifts his head and looks Jim in the eye.
"We found a person of interest that might have been involved with Janelle's murder. Now we'll never know because he died in the attack that wounded Kate and injured me."
"Could this man have given you a lead?"
"He very well could have. But now will never know."
Jim places his hand on Rick's shoulder in a comforting gesture. He feels for this man because of his dedication to revealing the truth. He's a lot like his own daughter in that respect.
Rick looks at Jim and knows he has to tell him what's on his mind.
"I love her, Jim. I think I have for a while now."
"I know you do, son. Both of you have what Johanna and I had. What the two of you have is a special bond. Something that is to be cherished and I know that you won't let anything happen to her."
"I won't."
"Tell me how bad is she, really?"
"If It weren't for an off-duty beat cop by the name of Kelly, we wouldn't be here having this conversation. He pulled Kate down a stairway that protected her from being hit any more than she already was. But then that also made me a target. When I first heard the automatic gunfire outside, I practically fell down the stairs to get to the front door and save her. When I got there I stood in the doorway trying to locate her but instead, I saw Mr. Renfroe bleeding out profusely I could tell he wasn't going to make it. I didn't see Kate anywhere. It all happened so fast that by the time I realized I was becoming a target it was too late. I was hit in the shoulder and then in the cheek." Rick as he points to his cheek with his unslung arm.
"Rick, are you feeling okay? I mean are you in any shape to continue this? If you're not, I want you to devote your time to looking after her and make sure you are keeping her safe. I know she's going to pull through this. We just have to wait for the doctors to work their magic."
Rick stared at Jim and wanted to tell him that he was fine but the man brought up a point. He needed to look after her to make sure she didn't get in too deep because apparently, Vales has it out for her and he knows her. He knows that she will dive in head first and go after Vales. So he tells him the only thing he can.
"Jim, I'm fine. We will get this guy because she doesn't stop. And neither will I." Rick promises.
Before Jim can respond to Rick telling him that they shouldn't risk their lives, Slaughter walks over and catches Rick's attention. Jim can tell that there's something he needs to speak to him about so he politely excuses himself. Slaughter then turns to Rick.
"Ethan what's on your mind," Rick asks.
"We need to speak to you about Vales. We have a tentative plan in place but we need to initiate some protocols."
"Protocols?"
"Yes, protocols. You and Beckett need to be removed from this case. I know it's not what you want to hear, but Rick, he tried to murder both of you. This man is way past vindictive. I can tell you that firsthand because I've been after him for the last three and a half years and nothing I've done sticks."
"Ethan, while I appreciate your concern we're not going to back off. There's no way in hell that you're going to get Kate to stop doing anything. Hell for all I know she'll be working the case from her hospital bed. So good luck with that."
"Rick we also think that Renfroe was working for Vales. So he was trying to eliminate you from getting a statement from him about the mayor's daughter. Renfro was more of a target than you or Kate were. But he figured if his guys had the opportunity to take you out I'm sure the order was given. You were there which means eliminating you was an added bonus. The word from my CIs is that he had Renfroe running his Southern Manhattan operation. He had placed him in charge of a lot of real estate. He was in control over everything from 57th Street South to the Battery."
Rick just stands there not knowing what to think. From what he just heard he knew that this confirms how vindictive Vales can be.
"All right Ethan what do you propose we do about this?" Rick asks.
Just as Slaughter was about to answer Rick the double doors that led from the operating theater swung open and the doctor that performed the surgery on Kate emerged through the doors. He first goes to Lanie and gives her a hug. He then releases her and asks her something Rick can't hear. It doesn't matter because she's raising her and pointing to him, Espo, and Jim. Then they all start converging on the area where the doctor is. Once everyone is standing in the semicircle around the doctor he begins his assessment of Kate's injuries.
"Good evening or should I say good morning." He corrects his greeting after he looks at his watch seeing that it's after 1:00 a.m. in the morning. Detective Kate Beckett was brought to the hospital around 3:30 p.m. She was given a full assessment by the staff doctors in the ER and it was clear that her injuries were life-threatening at first. Without wasting any time we immediately prepared her for surgery. Her abdominal wounds were the priority. She presented with three gunshot wounds to three times in her abdomen with a .30 caliber round that most likely came from an AK-47. She was also hit once by the same caliber round to the right rib cage area. This round only grazed her rib cage but in the process of hitting her, it broke two of her ribs and needed to be stitched up. This was the second field of injury that was not as life-threatening as the abdominal wounds."
Seeing the looks on their faces the doctor knew that he had their attention. So he continued his assessment.
"We quickly prepped detective Beckett for surgery and started operating. Once we located the three rounds that were embedded in her small and large intestines we needed to remove some sections of the necrotic intestine. The reason it took longer than we expected was that the intestines weren't moving blood through them as they should. This means we had to remove more intestinal tissue in order for the intestines to stay viable. Once we had removed four feet of intestines we were able to keep the blood moving without any leakage. Making sure that the abdominal cavity showed no blood in it we closed her up. Once we were complete with the surgery on her abdomen we addressed her rib cage area. Any questions?"
Lanie was the first to ask something.
"Will additional surgeries be required, Michael?" She asks hoping the answer is no.
"There's always that possibility, yes. But I'm hoping not. The next 24 to 48 hours are critical due to the fact that an infection is a priority. We will be watching her closely. The effects of the anesthetic will linger for at least the next 24 hours. She will have a colostomy bag until she shows no sign of infection and her bowel is working properly. You're welcome to see her if you want but I stress that you limit your time to fifteen minutes once you have seen her. She'll be in intensive care for the next forty-eight hours. Then you can start visiting her after we move her to a regular room. But just be aware that if something along the lines of infection slows her recovery she will be moved back into the ICU." The doctor stresses.
The doctor sees everyone nod and leads the first two people, Lanie and Jim to Kate's recovery room. Rick let Lanie go before him only because he needed to speak to the detectives first.
Watching the doctor leave and lead Lanie and Kate's father back to where she is, the three detectives approach Castle, and Slaughter finally answers the question he asked earlier.
"Rick, we seriously think that taking you off this case is in your best interest. We're going to coordinate efforts with people we trust within the DEA and the NYPD in order to take down Vales. We also know that Simmons is working with him maybe as a partner maybe as a supplier we don't know yet. But we will find out."
"Listen guys I appreciate what you're trying to do but you've got to realize that Kate will never go for this. She will fight you tooth and nail in order to stay on this case. And for me, it's personal on many levels. You know that the mayor is a personal friend of mine and I won't rest until we find out who killed his daughter. And what fuels my drive to figure out who did this is the fact that my partner is lying in a bed in the I.C.U. My loyalties lie with her right now."
All three detectives looked at each other and knew there would be no convincing Castle to leave the case. But maybe he could convince his partner that leaving the case could be for her own safety. They also realized that Rick was in love with his partner. For now, they'd keep it to themselves but if Vales ever connected the dots, there would be a much larger target painted on both of their backs.