Second chapter in one day. I had the ending of this chapter in mind as one of the plot twists and I had originally planned on putting it off until later, but apparently I was taken over and put this as the end of this chapter. Enjoy XOXO

P.S. sorry if it isn't as great as the first chapter. I'm not used to writing multi-chapter stories, only one-shots usually. But just bare with me people. I promise I'll try to make it worth your while.

She was starting to get cabin fever being cooped up in the hospital for the past few days, the doctor though seeing that she seemed to be doing well still wanting to keep her under observation for another two days after her first week in the hospital, but was finally happy to be released on an early June morning. The sun was rising, shining brilliantly against the New York backdrop and she felt like it was a metaphor for herself. She had gone in as one person, guarded against a man that now held her entire heart and saddened by the loss of a great friend and mentor as well as her own mother, and now she felt…whole wasn't exactly the word. She still didn't know who was behind the murder of her mother and now her Captain but she was refreshed and ready as hell to find out who did. She had a score to even and she knew that even when she drove them crazy, Rick, Espo, and Ryan would have her back no matter what.

When she had finalized the discharge papers and gotten into her normal clothes of jeans and a t-shirt with her, what Rick had called once or twice her 'killer' heels, she walked out into the hallway only to find Josh standing at the desk. "Good morning, Kate," he said as level as he could. She could still hear the hurt in his voice from the breakup, but she had to ignore it. She couldn't let herself feel guilty for being happy.

"Kate," she heard down the hallway. Beckett turned to see Castle stepping out of the elevator with a 'get well soon' balloon and a bouquet of roses. She smiled widely, feeling as giddy as a school girl as she walked over to him and hugged him tightly, "I thought you weren't getting out until tomorrow?" he asked.

Beckett shrugged, "I convinced the doctor that if I went to physical therapy for a few days longer than necessary then I could leave early," she told him, threading her arm through his as they turned around and walked back into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.

"When did they say you can be cleared to go back to work?" he asked, smirking slightly. He knew that was the one thing she wanted to know, the physical therapy and PTSD from the shooting be damned.

Beckett frowned, "Not until the therapist clears me for duty," she explained quietly, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. She hadn't talked to Castle about the nightmares, but she knew he knew about them. Some nights when he would be over at the hospital, which was basically every night and most of the day, ("Hey, I'm a writer, I can work from anywhere so why not a hospital as I make sure my muse gets better?") she would wake up to the constant tap of the keys on his keyboard as he typed up the next chapter in their story. It was a calming presence to her, seeing him still there and still the way he has always been, and she would turn on her side when the wires were removed from her and looked at him as he wrote, seeing the smirk when he noticed she was awake, and went back into as calm a sleep as she could. But then there were nights when she would be so scared, so shaken up, that the only thing that would let her fall asleep again would be for Castle to hold her as she fell asleep.

The nightmares weren't all the same so there was no way that she could just force her to get used to it and move on. Sometimes the nightmares were of her being shot at the funeral, some were of Captain's death, and some, tending to be the worst at times, imagining the people she loved replacing herself as the one shot. Those tended to be the worst when she saw the ones she loved most taking her place and almost losing her life.

Castle spoke up, bringing her back to the present, "Do you want to go back to the loft or do you want to go see the guys?" he asked, looking at her to try and judge her reaction. He didn't know what offering to see the guys would do, if it would hurt more than her want to go back and help people, but he knew that it would help her to feel better. The nightmares he knew were the worst were of the guys and Lanie and even himself replacing her, so he thought seeing them in person would help.

Kate looked at him, smiling widely and eyes sparkling in relief and gratitude as she reached up to kiss his cheek, "Thank you," she said, laying her head on his shoulder and threading her fingers through his.

When they entered the precinct, she was welcomed warmly by her friends and co-workers that were glad to see her alive and well. She breathed in deeply and felt immensely calmer by being surrounded by the familiarity of her day to day life. "You glad to be back?" Castle teased.

Beckett nodded and squeezed his hand again, "Thank you so much for this," she told him before walking over to Ryan and Espo, both guys hugging her tightly. Castle watched as she interacted with her team and couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. This was the Katherine Beckett he fell in love with, the one that had his writing juices flowing again and put him back on top after the thought he was done for when he killed off Derek Storm. He didn't know where he'd be now if it weren't for Kate Beckett, but looking back at how he was before her, he really didn't want to know. He liked who he was now.

"Mr. Castle, are you with us?" the new 12th Precinct Captain, Victoria Gates, asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. Her eyes looked as hard as stele and gave away nothing other than her annoyance at Castle, though he'd known that from day one. She wasn't very…discrete on her thoughts of his use to the precinct.

"Yes, Captain? What can I do for you this fine morning?" he asked, putting on the cocky charm and smile that was known for melting women across the world.

"You can tell me what you and Detective Beckett are doing here? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" she asked, turning to Beckett with her last question.

Beckett blushed slightly and bit her lip, "Well, sir, I just…I wanted to see everyone," she offered, shrugging.

"Well, Detective, not that I don't love your visit, I would prefer that you let us do our work and you to get better so that you can get back to your great work," she said before turning and walking back into her office.

Beckett looked at Ryan and Espo, both guys trying not to outright laugh at Gates' brush off of her, and elbowed them, "I'll see you later guys," she said, the laughter seeping into her voice, and hugged them both before walking away.

It wasn't until much later that things went…a little crazy. Castle and Beckett were in the loft sitting on the couch watching a movie with Alexis and Martha when Castle's phone rang. "Hello?" he answered. Castle was silent for a moment and when Beckett turned to look at him, she felt ice grip her heart. Castle's eyes were wide, his face ashen white and it looked as if he had stopped breathing.

When Castle saw her watching, he motioned her over and simply handed her the phone, "Hello?" she asked.

"Hello, Kate," the familiar voice answered.

Kate felt her heart stop and her throat burn, her eyes watering as she went over the two words that just sent her world spinning. "M…Montgomery?" she asked, turning to look at Castle and reaching for his hand.

Surprise!