Lanie Parish was correct when she said that they were all in for a very long night of waiting. Hours passed before Mia's surgeon joined them.

"We've stabilized Mia." He began. He'd given Dr. Parish permission to update, but was finally in a place where he was comfortable enough leaving the injured teen. It was time to speak to her parents himself.

"It's all a bit of a balancing act right now." The doctor explained, "Her head injury was fairly serious and there was extensive damage to her skull, but her brain activity looks good." The surgeon started.

"Now, we were able to successfully evacuate the blood, remove debris from the tissue and make repairs to her skull. I don't think there's been a traumatic brain injury, which frankly is a miracle."

Kate let out a breath of relief, the first in hours. The doctor continued to speak.

"We need to be sure that we continue to keep her bleeding under control so we are trying to address the open fractures to her arm and her leg, as well as the injuries to her pelvis-"He paused and then added, "they are extensive." He moved to sit across from Castle and Beckett.

"We've had an orthopedic surgical team working to stabilize her bone structure and control the bleeding as we prepare her for surgery. While her pelvis was crushed, it doesn't appear that any of the bone fragments pierced any vital organs- again, a miracle."

He then countered himself, "but her body has been severely traumatized and the longer we wait to repair the open fractures, the higher the risk of bleeding and infection. The problem is that keeping her under general anesthesia for much longer is going to take its toll on her body. She needs time to heal and rest." He paused to give Mia's family a moment to process and formulate questions.

"So you need to operate to keep Mia alive, but keeping her under while you operate is a threat to her life?" Alexis spoke incredulously, much to everyone's surprise. She'd been fairly silent throughout the ordeal. The doctor nodded.

"We don't want to keep her under for too long, but as long as her vitals appear to be hanging in there- we've got to keep going." He paused to take in the terrorized expressions on their faces.

"Again," the surgeon stated, "This is all a bit of a balancing act."

Kate simply stared at the doctor, it was if she no longer spoke English. "So…What…" She wasn't able to formulate a coherent question.

"So, in other words, Mia's stable- her head injury is looking good-all things considered. We're working to repair her arm and her leg and we're going to continue to work on her pelvis as long as her system can take it." The doctor clarified.

Castle nodded. "That's good news." He offered. Mia was still alive and at least stable.

The doctor smiled, "She's a fighter, and we'll continue to do the best we can for her."


Kate wasn't sure how much time had passed after the doctor left before anyone spoke.

It was well past 2am and as promised, Castle had stepped out to update the boys. After returning some time later, a cup of coffee in hand for Kate, he sat. The silence in the room was broken abruptly.

"How will they know if her system can't take it?" Alexis asked. She was met with blank stares from both Castle and Beckett.

"The doctors said that they are going to keep working on her as long as her system can take it. How will they know if she can't anymore?" She clarified, fear evident in her voice.

"They're monitoring her vitals." Lanie volunteered, "Being under anesthesia places a lot of stress for any person's heart and lungs, even when they've got machines helping them to breathe. If her heart rate becomes erratic or her pressure drops they'll wrap things up as best they can and give her body time to rest and recover." The medical examiner explained.

"Why can't they do that now?" Alexis questioned.

"Because they've got to repair the fractures to prevent continued bleeding, and they've got to get her fresh blood on account of the crush injury."

"Again with this crush injury?" Castle spoke up. It was mentioned earlier, but there was so much else-namely a skull fracture, pressing on his mind that he hadn't processed most of it. Kate turned to Lanie with concer and soon the medical examiner explained.

"When the body is crushed and the muscles are compressed, like what happened to Mia's leg, and possibly other parts that were pinned under the concrete, there isn't enough proper blood flow to the affected areas and tissues become damaged. The damaged tissue cells start to disintegrate and release debris into the blood." She explained, not wanting to terrify Kate any more than she already had been, but wanting her to be prepared.

"The longer the bad blood-the damaged cells- can circulate through her body, the more damage possible to her organs." Lanie explained.

Kate simply closed her eyes, swallowing back the lump in her throat. She nodded but dropped her head against Castle's shoulder. She didn't even bother trying to keep any type of physical boundary up. There wasn't any point. Castle simply rubbed the back of her now exposed neck, trying to be of comfort in any way possible.

"One thing at a time." He whispered into Kate's ear. She nodded, they needed to focus on getting Mia out of surgery and through the night.


It was a soft, rhythmic rubbing at the base of her skull that woke her. It was comforting and reminded Kate of her own mother. However, the finger tips working through her hair were not that of her mother, but of her partner- her-everything. She knew him by his touch, by his smell. It all soothed her.

She moaned and raised her head, "any news?" She spoke, noting that it was light outside. How long have I been asleep? She wondered to herself. Kate swore she'd just leaned against Castle's shoulder minutes ago in pure exhaustion. She didn't recall how she'd come to be passed out in his arms, and didn't understand why her body was aligned with his.

It was then that she noticed they were sitting on a cot. She looked to the inhabitants of the room questioningly.

"You passed out around 3 and the nurses wanted to make you more comfortable. I tried to lay you on the cot but you wouldn't let go of my arm." Castle explained, "So here we are."

"The nurse dropped by to let us know that she was still hanging in there, but the doctor has yet to make his rounds. I imagine he'll be here as soon as shift changes are complete."

Kate looked at the clock on the wall, 6:45 am. The night shift was surely getting ready to head out. She rose from her chair and stretched her arms. In an unprompted and surprising move Alexis crossed the room and wrapped her arms around the detective. It was the first move for physical contact since they'd arrived the night before. She then pulled back and smiled sadly at Kate, squeezing her arms.

"I'm going to go get you some coffee." The young woman offered Kate.

Beckett smiled. "Thanks Alexis." She truly appreciated her support. Alexis nodded and made her way to the cafeteria; prepared to bring both her father and his partner much needed caffeine.

Kate turned to Castle, who rose to pull her against him. Embracing her once again. She allowed herself to relax back into his arms.

"It's morning, and she's still hanging in there." He stated. Kate nodded, afraid to hope that Mia would really pull through all of this.

She noted that they were the only ones in the waiting room now that Alexis had gone. "Did the others go home?" She asked.

"Mother is sleeping on a cot down the hall, she just traded shifts with Alexis. The boys called to touch base late in the night and they'll be in later today. I'd expect Lanie to be here fairly soon." He informed her.

Before Kate could formulate her next question Castle answered it, "The boys haven't had luck yet-but they will." He assured her. Castle had no doubt that they would nail any and all who'd played a role in the building collapse. Beckett simply nodded against his chest, not wanting to break contact just yet.


By 8:30am the boys and Lanie had arrived. Martha was awake and making arrangements to see that everyone in the small waiting room-along with the nursing staff- had breakfast. Alexis returned with much-needed coffee and Kate had gone to the bathroom to freshen up. She was returning when another doctor stopped by. This doctor was a young woman, appearing to be in her mid 30s. She did not appear to be much older than Kate.

"Are you all Mia's family?" The doctor questioned.

Several of them nodded, but Kate spoke up. "I'm her mother."

The young doctor turned her attention to Beckett, extending her hand. "I'm doctor Matthews and I'll be looking after Mia today. I wanted to give you all an update." Kate nodded, waiting impatiently for the doctor to speak. The doctor took a seat and waited for everyone to settle around her.

"Well, Mia is one strong girl. She went through several surgeries beautifully. We were able to repair the open fractures through the night." She spoke with a smile on her face. "There will be more surgeries over the next few days, but the danger of internal bleeding has been significantly reduced and her vitals look good."

Kate sighed, "Can I see her?"

"They're moving her into the pediatric intensive care unit as we speak and she should be settled soon." The doctor informed them. "She'll remain sedated for the time being. There is some mild swelling around her head wound, which isn't unexpected. We want to give her body a chance to recover a bit more before waking her. All in all, her prognosis is looking a lot better than it was 12 hours ago. She's hanging in there."

Kate nodded, "when I can see her?" She asked again.

"As soon as she's settled in." The doctor spoke, motioning a older nurse over and updating her on both Mia and her family's situation. The older woman turned and smiled softly, urging the inhabitants of the room to follow.

Soon they'd been transferred up to the 7th floor, a quiet place with bright murals on the walls, colorful depictions of children playing, as well as glass-walled rooms surrounding the nurses' station for constant supervision. Parents could be seen sitting with their children, varying in age from toddlers to teens.

The somber mood highlighted the serious nature of the condition of all patients who were unfortunate enough to be there, or perhaps the most fortunate- as they were all hanging on in a fight for their young lives.

An athletic-looking man approached the group then,

"Hey guys. I'm David Philips and I'm a Registered Nurse here in the PICU. We've got a waiting room set up for you all just down the hall. Unfortunately, it's against policy to have so many visitors at once, but you are all welcome to stay in the waiting room and trade shifts. It's fairly common to do so here." He spoke as they passed the patient rooms, stopping at a slightly more spacious waiting area.

Unlike the one down stars, which had glaring bright lights, Vinyl flooring and metal chairs, this room was dimly lit with several couches. A cot had been placed there as well, along with a coffee table, magazines and a television to help families pass the time. In the corner was a toy box, clearly intended for the siblings of any children being treated. It was clear that families on this floor were likely to be there for the long haul.

"I'll have one of the aids bring in a snack cart for you all, along with extra pillows and blankets if you should need them." Nurse Phillips offered.

"Thanks, but when can I see Mia?" Kate pressed again. She understood that shifts were changing, that Mia was still being transported, but she was also rapidly reaching her limits. Brian smiled and nodded in understanding.

"They're settling her into room 708 as we speak. I'll go see where things are with her." He squeezed Kate's hand and left the room.

She sighed and waited, while the others made themselves as at home as possible in their new temporary living quarters.

It hadn't occurred to Kate to tell them that they weren't obligated to stay and it wouldn't have mattered if she had. Martha and Alexis had no intentions of leaving any time soon.

They were all likely to be there for quite some time.