Chapter 4

Beckett sat in her seat three days later waiting for Castle to come back. It had become a regular thing for them to get Chinese delivered. So much so, that Castle started taking orders for the nurses. Beckett smirked. Castle was always so thoughtful. Her attention was brought back from her thoughts when she heard a soft grunt. Looking over she saw her father's eyes open and he started looking around. She jumped from her seat and ran over to the side of the bed.

"Dad?" She asked and saw his eyes focused on her.

"Katie?" He asked with a raspy voice. Beckett smiled brightly and felt tears come to her eyes, as she looked at her father, finally awake. "What happened?" He asked.

"You don't remember?" She wondered what he knew about the accident. He shook his head, wincing at the pain from his stiff muscles. "I'll let the nurse know you're awake." She pulled back and walked to the door. Hanging out to talk to the nurse across the way. "He's awake." She said as Castle was walking down the hall. She looked at him and gave a smile before going back into the room with the nurse.

Castle walked in a few minutes later to see the nurse on one side of the bed checking Jim over to make sure he was alright and Beckett on the other holding his hand. He set the two bags of food on one of the chairs and standing back, not wanting to intrude. He was extremely happy that Jim was all right, that Beckett was not going to have to be in pain anymore, worrying about him and that she was smiling again.

"I'll let the doctor know he's awake." The nurse told Beckett. "He will probably come in to see him in the morning. Until then we'll continue to keep watch." Beckett nodded and the nurse looked back at Jim. "Are you in pain?"

"A bit." He said roughly.

"I'll go get some pain medication for you. Take a few sips of water and your throat should clear up. I'll be right back." She told them leaving, giving Castle a small smile on the way out.

"Is that Rick by the door?" He asked making Beckett turn, glancing at Castle with a brief smile before looking back at her father.

"Yeah, he's been here since you came in. He's like a parasite I can't get rid of." She chuckled making Jim smile.

"I'll take that as a complement." Castle said as he took several steps closer to stand close behind her.

"You would." She rolled her eyes making him smirk.

"So how long have you been sitting here?" Jim asked them both.

"Since the hospital called her almost six days ago." Castle answered and glanced at Beckett who was looking down at her and her father's joined hands. "I'm going to go divvy out the food." He told Beckett and gave Jim a nod before he turned to grab the bags, missing the appreciative look she gave him. Once he was gone, Jim looked back at his daughter.

"Katie, why are you crying?" He asked as he gave a gentle tug on her hand to make her sit on the side of the bed.

"I… I was afraid I would never get to see you again. You were pretty hurt when they brought you in and then four days ago you almost died and they had to do surgery on your brain…" A few tears fell down her cheeks. "I was afraid you would have left me alone." She looked down again. Jim knew his daughter only let the gates open when it was a life or death situation, or when a particular case brought her back to her mother's death.

"You're not alone. We talked about that before. You have all your friends and you tell me all the time that Rick won't leave you alone. How he talks you into dinners with his daughter and mother, how he follows you everywhere. You're not alone, you never will be. Besides, you're stuck with me for a very long time to come." Beckett smiled

"Castle said the same thing to his daughter." She said remembering the conversation that put an end to her telling him to go home. Jim smirked.

"You two seemed to be closer than the last time I saw you." He gave a small smile and Beckett shook her head but the tug at her lips told him different. "What happened between you two?" He asked

"We've been through a lot in the last three months." She said softly. "And he's been really good these last few days. He drove up here and hasn't left. When we got here they wouldn't let me see you so he called the mayor." She laughed a bit making Jim smile. "They almost wouldn't let him come with me to see you and get all the paperwork done. I made him promise not to call the mayor again."

"It's good to know some people high up." Jim told her making her nod. "What else happened?" He usually did not like to pry but he had noticed over the last few years that the more she spoke about the man who wiggled himself into her life the more she smiled and laughed. He enjoyed watching her smile at the memories she had with the man. Besides, he liked Castle.

"When they had to do surgery the other night…" She paused a minute as she tried to pull back the pain and worry she had felt that night. "All the alarms went off and all the nurses and doctors ran in. I refused to move or do anything. I was a wreck but Castle came out of nowhere and got me out."

"He got you to leave?" Jim asked. He knew the memories of what happened to him hurt her but they were slowly fading to the back as she remembered what Castle had done.

"Well he carried me down to the waiting room down the hall." She shook her head. "I was a mess. He stayed with me and only went outside the door to call the others." She gave a small smile. "They all came up. We all fell asleep in the chairs and then they had to go to work but… Castle's been taking care of everything." She smiled as she looked at her lap.

"He really cares about you, he loves you." He said making her glance at him and nod.

"I know." She whispered. Jim looked at her as she took a deep breath before making sure Castle was not near the door. "When I was shot last year…. When he was over me in the cemetery. He told me. He told me he loved me."

"He did?" Jim asked. He would have thought that if either of them had admitted their feelings to the other they would be in a relationship.

She nodded her head and looked at her lap as tears came to her eyes. "I lied." Jim looked confused. "I told him I didn't remember, but I remember everything. I just…. I'm wasn't ready, I'm not ready. I can't just move on from everything." Jim squeezed her hand. "He found out about my lie and it really hurt him. It took us four and a half months and crazy fan killing people to get us to talk again. I don't want to hurt him any more than I already have."

"Katie." He said making her meet his eyes. Jim gave her a smile. "He'll understand. You just have to explain it to him, tell him why you're so afraid to do anything. I think maybe it's time you start showing yourself a little more. Show him that you're trying at least. That's all that matters. Believe me, everything will work out." He gave her hand another squeeze. Father and Daughter sat with smiles on their faces holding hands for another five minutes with Beckett telling Jim about how Lanie and Esposito are back together again when a knock to the doorframe interrupted them.

"I don't mean to interrupt." Alexis said with Martha standing behind her. "Is Dad here?"

"He went to give the nurses their food." Beckett explained as Alexis and Martha walked into the room more. "Dad, I think you met them before but this is Castle's mother, Martha and his daughter, Alexis."

"It's nice to actually meet you." He smiled.

"It's good to see you're awake." Alexis responded. Martha nodded before saying she was going to go find her son. "We've all been really worried about you." Alexis continued and walked over to stand beside Beckett.

"So I've heard." He nodded.

"How are you feeling?" Beckett asked making Alexis look at her.

Alexis paused for a moment before answering, "I'm fine. Besides being here isn't about me." She said making Beckett shake her head.

"Things are better." Beckett told her. "You don't need to be so proper." Alexis looked at her before glancing at Jim then back to Beckett.

"Dad told you. Didn't he?" Beckett nodded making Alexis sigh. "Well I don't think the nightmares are going to go away any time soon, but I'm okay. Gram and Dad help a lot."

"Nightmares?" Jim asked making both women look at him.

"Last month, Alexis was kidnapped." Was all Beckett said.

"I have nightmares almost every night." Alexis continued. "I wake up screaming so loud that I wake up even the neighbors." She looked at Beckett quickly. "I'm doing better. I really am. I figured out that when I sleep in with my Dad I'm much better."

"I thought Rick was staying here the last few nights?" Jim asked looking at Beckett who nodded sadly.

"Gram has been taking care of things. Besides I've been sleeping in his bed." She gave a small smile.

"Sounds like he has the special touch to chase away nightmares and fears." Jim said glancing at his daughter who gave a small smile. Alexis rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Don't tell him that. He already thinks he's a real superhero." Beckett could not help but laugh and Jim smiled.

"Talking about me?" Castle asked as he walked in making them look at him followed by his mother and the nurse.

"Okay, I had to talk to the house doctor but I got you some morphine. This will help with the pain, but it might make you a bit sleepy." The nurse explained.

"We'll head to the waiting room to eat." Beckett said with a small smile. Jim nodded and watched as Beckett kissed his forehead and lead the group out with Castle being the last one out.

"Rick." Jim said making Castle pause at the door and look at him. "Thanks for taking care of my little girl while all this happened."

"Always." Castle gave him a sincere smile.

"You better make sure of that." He told the younger man who nodded before he continued after the women with the two bags of food to let Jim get some sleep.

Once they were all sitting around the small table with their food, they started talking. "So what were you two saying about me?" Castle asked Beckett and Alexis who looked at each other.

"Just about how you think you're a superhero." Alexis said stressing the word 'think'. Beckett gave a smile at how Alexis spoke to her father.

"Well I am one." He said with a shrug.

"In your dreams, Castle." Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Well, Detective, in my dreams-"

He was cut off by his mother and Alexis scolding him. "Dad!" "Richard" They called at the same time making him look at them.

"Really Richard. Where are your manors?" Martha asked.

"I was just going to say that I'm the best superhero with the most beautiful sidekick ever, in my dreams." He explained.

"And who would be you're sidekick, Dad?" Alexis asked with a knowing look.

"Yeah, Castle." Beckett added with a raised eyebrow and a look telling him she was waiting for his answer.

"Mother's right. Manors." He said with a smile before starting to eat.

"So when did your father wake up?" Martha asked.

"A few minutes before you two showed up." Beckett answered.

"He seems to be doing really well for what happened." Beckett nodded. "Do the doctors say he'll recover quickly?"

"They said it will be slow but as of earlier this morning everything was healing wonderfully."

"They are going to keep running the tests and checking everything, especially his brain until he is going home and they will run tests every so often for about six months after he goes home." Castle added. Beckett was glad to have had him with her every time the doctor would talk. She would forget a lot of the information, as she would zone out thinking of all worst-case scenarios. Luckily, Castle was there to stay focused and get all the information she needed to know.

"Well now that he's awake they should be sending him home soon right?" Alexis asked.

"Well I'm sure they will want his injuries healed first." Martha told her granddaughter. "My friend, Judy, she fell and broke her hip during rehearsals one time and they wouldn't let her leave the hospital until she was almost healed. They are very careful about broken bones and injured in people our age." She explained.

"And exactly what is the age group you're talking about?" Castle asked only to have her swat at him from across the table making Beckett and Alexis smile.

The rest of dinner went along with the family banter that was never ending, usually making Castle the butt end of all the comments. They threw away their containers and sat back talking. "You know I was ahead in the jokes until you came along." Castle told Beckett, which only made her laugh. He could not help the smile that was across his face. He had begun to think that he would never hear her laugh, or see her smile just as brightly as she was just now.

"We better get back to the loft." Alexis said looking at Martha. "I have homework and a study group."

"With who?" Castle asked as the two stood up.

"James." Alexis said, pulling on her jacket. She hugged Beckett, kissed his cheek and said bye as she started for the door. Castle looked at Martha who sighed and shrugged.

"Don't worry so much. She's growing up but she knows her lines." Martha told him. "Besides, I have a date with a nice glass of wine tonight."

"Which means you're dipping into my cabinet." Castle said, standing up and walking her towards the door.

"Stop worrying about us." Martha told him. "You take care of Beckett, Alexis and I are more than capable of taking care of things when you're not around. It's not like we must have a man around all the time. All they do is whine and complain anyway." Castle looked at her and she smiled. "We'll talk to you later." Castle nodded and he gave her a kiss on the cheek before they left and he went back to sit in his seat heavily.

"Don't worry." Beckett said making him look at her. "She'll always need her dad around to scare away the monsters in the closet." She smiled as he smirked at her. The two looked at each other for a moment longer before Beckett heard her father's voice telling her to show herself a bit more. She sighed, readjusting in her seat to curl her legs up beside her and lean over, laying her head on Castle's shoulder. Castle looked at her, frozen a minute not sure what was going. "Now that we know my dad's okay, I think we both need some sleep." She felt him shift before she lifted her head.

Castle shifted before she lifted her head to look at him. He was smiling before he stood up grabbing her hand and pulling her to little couch like seat to the side. Once there he sat and she cuddled to his side once again as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he dozed off. Beckett smiled, vowing to let herself relax a little more and slowly show him how much she really did care about him, even if she was not ready to completely admit it allowed yet. She smiled, wrapping her arm across his middle as she let sleep over take her, listening to his steady heartbeat.