Ryan was waiting for them at the entrance to the hospital. The press wasn't there, yet, because they didn't know which hospital to go to – and that information would be kept quiet for as long as they could just to avoid the chaos that would follow for as long as possible – so he was really there to show them where to go and not keep a crowd of gawkers away. He didn't give them time to ask him any questions, and instead ushered them into a private waiting room, where they were joined only a moment later by Esposito, who managed to look both relieved and concerned.

Alexis couldn't hold back her questions any longer.

"Have you seen them? Are they okay? What happened to them? What-?"

He held his hand up to stop her.

"Captain's in with Beckett right now. She's awake and talking, but she's pretty beat up, too." He held her gaze with his own, knowing the next words were going to frighten her and projecting as much support and calm as he knew how to. "Your dad's in surgery right now, so we'll have to wait to talk to him."

Predictably, she paled – which was saying something for a kid with her coloring.

"What's wrong with him? Is he going to be-"

Martha put a steadying hand on her granddaughter's arm – or maybe needed steadying herself. Esposito shook his head.

"I don't know what's wrong with him," he admitted. "But there's a reason they brought them to this hospital. This is where all our guys go when they get shot or hurt. Trust me, the doctors here are top-notch."

Before she could reply the door opened and Montgomery entered. He nodded to all of them.

"I'm relieved to be able to tell you that both Beckett and Castle are going to be fine."

There was a collective sigh of relief, and Martha suddenly needed to sit down. She went over to one of the chairs, dragging Alexis with her because her hand was suddenly clenched in her own.

"What happened?" Jim Beckett asked.

Montgomery shook his head.

"I just finished speaking with your daughter. She's not sure, exactly. From what she told me and the investigator from the FAA they were off the flight plan because Castle was showing her how to fly the plane and giving her a chance to play with it a little bit. When they decided to get on with their trip, she says that everything went black on their controls."

Beckett frowned.

"What?"

"What happened?" Martha asked.

Montgomery shrugged.

"She said that Castle told her later that it shouldn't have happened. The FAA guy seems to be in complete agreement. They're going to pull the plane and check it out thoroughly to see if they can find what caused it."

"What happened then?" Ryan asked.

"She told me that Castle crashed them into a lake. A hard landing, but they made it. Beckett doesn't remember much about getting to shore or what happened right after that, but she's crediting Castle with the fact that they're alive."

"Is she all right?" Beckett asked.

"Exposure and some bumps and bruises. The doctor that was working on her thinks she's going to develop pneumonia no matter what they give her for antibiotics, but they'll keep her here until she's better. You can go see her." He gestured toward the door he'd come through.

Beckett's dad looked at Martha and Alexis, but Martha shooed him off impatiently.

"Go. Tell her we'll be by later."

He nodded and left the room, hurriedly, and Montgomery turned to Castle's family.

"The doctors are checking Castle for internal injuries. Beckett told me he was up and walking after the wreck but he that he was in a lot of pain. The doctor that was in the room – not his doctor, though – said that it could have been an injury to his ribs. He apparently went back into the lake yesterday trying to find out if the emergency beacon on the plane was working and that meant that he had to do a deep dive. The doctor said if he had a rib injury then the pressure from that dive might have made it worse and possibly caused damages to some organs. Beckett told me he was a lot worse after going back in than he was before, which supports that theory."

"But he'll be okay?" Alexis asked. It didn't sound like he was going to be okay.

Montgomery nodded.

"He'll be fine. You just can't see him, yet."

"We can see Beckett, though, right?"

"Sure. Just don't let her talk too much."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Since Esposito and Ryan had both already snuck in to check on Beckett before everyone else had arrived, they held back while Alexis and Martha went to check on her. When they opened the door, they saw that she was comfortably settled in a hospital bed that had the top raised so she could see what was going on around her – and probably to help her breathe, Alexis thought.

As Montgomery had told them, her face was pale and bruised, but she smiled when she saw the two of them, and her dad moved away from the side of her bed to give Alexis a chance to come over and hug her carefully.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked, noticing that she'd been hooked up to an IV and a bunch of machines that were checking her vitals every ten seconds or so.

Beckett nodded, but coughed before she answered. And when she did, her voice was hoarse and scratchy.

"Yeah. How are you guys holding up?"

"A lot better now that they found you."

Which made her smile. Such a sweet child. Who would ever believe that she was half Richard Castle? Of course, that wasn't completely fair, she knew, now. He'd proven himself to her, and it was important to her that Alexis know how important she was to him.

"You can thank your dad for that. All he could think of was getting back to you."

Alexis couldn't have looked more pleased, and Martha's smile was grateful.

"We were told that we need to let you rest," she told the detective. "But is there anything you need?"

Beckett looked down at the paper gown they'd put her in.

"Some pajamas? And maybe some other items…?"

Like a little makeup so she could hide the bruises on her face. Bruises were all well and good for prizefighters, but not for detectives. Besides, she felt washed out and would prefer not to look like it, too.

Martha gave her a knowing smile.

"We'll get you everything you need."

"Thanks."

She didn't ask how they were going to get into her apartment without her keys – she didn't even know where her keys were, for that matter. Esposito or Ryan could let them in.

The two left her alone with her dad, knowing that he needed more time with her to reassure himself that she was going to be okay. They could understand completely.