It was pouring rain outside and the air was cool, as the wind swept in between the tall buildings of New York City. The sounds of hard raindrops coming down against the glass windows of Richard Castle's study weren't loud enough to get Beckett off his mind as he sat in his chair drinking scotch out of a glass. The room was dark and the only light in the room was coming from his laptop. It had been four days since Beckett woke up in her hospital room. He stared at the screen of his fansite. He thought maybe if he had answered some fan mail it could distract him from the painful reality- but it didn't. He sipped his drink and closed his eyes.
"Dad…" Alexis said as she entered the study. She set down her backpack and walked over to her dad, placing her arms around him. He raised his drink free hand and held onto her arm.
"Hi sweetie, how was school?" He asked, smiling.
"Fine, same old same old- german, geometry, gym, and then ditched fourth period to smoke outback underneath the bleechers." Alexis joked, trying to cheer up her dad. He laughed.
"That's my girl." He responded smiling.
"Richard?" a voice yelled from the living room, as the front door slammed.
"In here!" Castle yelled out to his mother.
"Oh, good heavens Richard. It's not even 4:00." Martha sighed referring to the almost empty glass in Castle's hand. He placed it on the desk.
"Just following the 'it's five o'clock somewhere' rule." Castle smiled. He stood up and yawned.
"Did you get a lot of sleep?" Alexis asked.
"Yeah, actually I did. I was thinking of stopping by the hospital later, if you want to come along." Castle said, as he started towards the doorway.
"Yeah, I just need to call Ash quick and do some homework." Alexis responded. She smiled at her dad and walked out of the room towards the kitchen.
"Darling, you need to get out. It's so gloomy in here, the weather outside is more cheerful than being in here in this cave, hiding." Martha said with concern. Castle looked down sadly.
"I just…I don't know. For once I don't know what to say. The one woman who's inspired me to write three novels, and I can't find words." Castle said, as he sat on the arm of the chair. Martha stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Richard, sitting here all day isn't going to help you figure it out and neither is sitting in the precinct at Kate's desk." Martha said, Castle looked up shocked.
"Yes, I know. Esposito called me and told me you had been there." She responded to his look of shock.
"It's the only place I felt like was normal. Like she would walk in at any moment and we would be like we were, before…" Castle trailed off. Martha ran her hand across his head and kissed his forehead. She smiled and walked out of the room to the kitchen, where Alexis was making a sandwich.
Castle watched them and was so grateful to have such amazing people in his life. He stood up and grabbed his cell phone off his desk. He had no missed calls. He hadn't seen Beckett in 3 days; he wanted to give her time with Lanie, the guys, and her father. He also didn't know how to come out and explain what he had said to her. What if she's mad? What if she doesn't feel the same? Does she even remember? Castle set his phone down on the desk. He looked at it, wishing it would ring and Beckett's name would pop up on the screen, and they would have a case to solve. He walked away to go get a shower and to shave before going to the hospital.
Hospital…
Beckett was sitting in a chair facing the window that looked down onto the busy streets of the city. It was raining out and the room was cold. She had a blanket around her lap. She had on dark gray sweatpants, with a white v-neck t-shirt. She didn't need an ivy in her arm and she was more than ready to get the hell out of the hospital. She was the kind of person that was a "do-er" not a person who can just sit around waiting. But at this point she had a reminder on her chest of what happens when you don't sit and you go out and "do". She creased her brow, and closed her eyes. She was looking at Castle and giving her eulogy to everyone. Then she heard Castle yell her name and she fell to the sounds of screaming. But she was trying to concentrate on what he said to her before she passed out.
"Hey honey." Beckett's dad said as he entered the room. She turned and smiled at him.
"Hey dad."
"It's pretty bad out, but I managed to get you some magazines and your favorite." Jim Beckett said as he raised a bag of oatmeal raisin cookies up. She smiled and her eyes lit up as she took the cookies.
"Thanks dad. I definetly need these." She smiled. She stood up slowly, and he helped her over to her bed to sit on together.
"So…" he said. She looked at him and she immediately could tell what he was trying to say.
"Nope." Beckett responded. He patted her knee and kissed her forehead.
"He'll come when he's ready, Katie. I'm sure he's got a lot on his mind- he was so worried about you honey. It's nice to see you have someone like that in your life- you need that." Jim said, referring to Castle. She smiled slightly at the sound of his name.
"I think I'm going to lay down, I'm pretty worn out."
"Alright, I'll let you sleep. I actually have some errands to run, but I'll stop by again. Love you." He said as he pulled the covers up over her, like a little girl being tucked in. She laid back against her pillow and sighed.
"I love you too." She smiled. He walked out of the room and the door closed. She looked up at the empty ceiling. Pondering her mind and just as she began to close her eyes, they opened with shock. That was it- "I love you." It came back to her as if it had never been forgotten, it was so clear now. Richard Castle told her he loved her. She looked over to her bag that Lanie had brought for her from her apartment, she reached for it and got her phone. She was so tempted to call Castle. So tempted to hear his voice and to talk about what had happened. She bit her lip and then the thought of Josh and what does this mean now. Now she was confused and unsure. She placed the phone on her nightstand and looked out the window covered in raindrops. She closed her eyes and a drop fell from her right eye.