Author's note: Sorry you had to wait on this chapter. I had training at work all day and it was soooo long I had a bit of trouble getting into the writing mood. But now I am so here we go!

OOOOOOOOOOO

A check with the doctors told Martha that the surgeons working on her son were going to be there for at least another couple of hours. As much as she wanted to wait around for them to finish she decided that it would be far better for her granddaughter if they had something to do to keep themselves occupied during that time. With that in mind, she asked Detective Ryan to help them with Beckett's request. He only hesitated a moment before agreeing, and Esposito told them he'd stick around the hospital and call them back if there was any word. Not that they planned on being gone long; Alexis wouldn't want to be gone any longer than necessary, even though she did agree that they should get the things Detective Beckett needed. And it would definitely be better if they went to do it, because one of the male detectives would mess up and get the wrong things.

Detective Ryan drove them – just in case they heard something and needed to speed back – and he was also the one who used his skill at lock picking to gain entrance into Beckett's apartment rather than ask the manager of the apartment building to let them in. He'd been in Beckett's place before, but he stayed right at the entrance rather than snoop through her stuff while she wasn't around. Luckily for his sensibilities Martha and Alexis had no such qualms and immediately and efficiently gathered all the items they thought she'd want – including a pair of warm pajamas that one of the nurses had suggested when they'd left.

On the way back, they got a call from Esposito, who said Castle was still in surgery but that word had leaked that they'd been found and even more important that the hospital they were both being treated at had been named. The press was already gathering, and they would certainly be looking for Alexis and Martha to be arriving. Esposito had a couple of officers waiting for them in the underground parking lot ready to hustle them into the private waiting room where they would be able to avoid any questions until they were ready to face them.

Both Alexis and Martha were used to the press, but they were grateful for the courtesy and would prefer to hold off on answering any questions until they had more information to give.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Beckett was asleep when they snuck into her room to deliver her things to her. Her father had pulled a chair near the bed and was dozing in it, and the two were careful not to wake him. Instead they headed back to the waiting room and settled in to wait with Ryan and Esposito both waiting with them, not only to make sure that some overly eager reporter didn't try to sneak in or barge his or her way into the waiting room and also because they wanted to be there when word finally came in on Castle's condition.

While they waited, Alexis turned on the TV to see if the reporters outside had more information than she did about what happened to her dad and Detective Beckett. What they saw, however, was that whoever had leaked the story hadn't been someone who had known much.

"Speaking on the condition on condition of anonymity a source close the situation states that the Pennsylvania National Guard found Mr. Castle and Detective Beckett in the northern woods of Pennsylvania where their plane had been crashed into a lake. The National Guard hasn't released a statement, yet, and have commented that they have no intention of doing so until they have been advised by family of both Richard Castle and Detective Kate Beckett that it is all right for them to do so." The reporter who had given the report allowed his expression to become chagrined. "Which means we'll have to wait to find out any more details."

Alexis smiled.

"That's nice of them."

Esposito nodded his agreement and started to say something, when the door opened and admitted a doctor that none of them had seen before. From the scrubs he was wearing, it was a good bet he was a surgeon, and that brought Alexis and Martha both to their feet instantly.

He gave them both a smile, and Martha was relived to see that he wasn't wearing anything that was covered with blood. The last thing Alexis needed was a lot of blood when she was already on edge.

"You're Mr. Castle's family?"

Obviously not a reader of mysteries. Martha didn't mind. She nodded and felt Alexis clutch her hand tightly. The doctor didn't make them wait.

"Mr. Castle is out of surgery, and he's going to be fine." He paused with a slight smile while Alexis gave an excited squeal and Martha had to clutch her shoulder in relief. "He's going to hurt for a while, though. He has a concussion, cracked three ribs, bruised his liver and sprained his wrist. Add to that the very real possibility of pneumonia from exposure and a lot of bruises and he's going to be here for at least a week."

"But he'll be okay?" Alexis asked.

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

The doctor smiled again.

"Yes."

"Can we see him?"

The doctor hesitated, but he had no more defense against her imploring expression than her father normally did and shrugged.

"You can, but you need to understand that he's going to look bad. He has a lot of bruising on his face, and it might be scary for you. He also has an intubations tube down his throat until we know how strong his lungs are so he won't be able to talk to you. He's going to be groggy, too, so he might not recognize you right away. And you have to be very careful with him. His ribs are wrapped, but they're going to hurt if you try to hug him."

She nodded.

"I'll be careful."

"Recovery is just down the hall." He gestured to a woman who had joined them while he'd been speaking. "Doctor Evans will take you to see him."

Ryan and Esposito waited until the room was empty before they turned to the doctor.

"He's really going to be all right?"

The doctor nodded.

"It was a lot closer than I wanted to let them know, though."

"Thanks, doc."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

He was in the same kind of bed that Beckett had been put into. Bare-chested but with bandages wrapped tightly around his chest, he was covered with a warming blanket and attached to a lot more machines than Beckett had been. Including one that looked like it was pumping air into the tube that was in his mouth.

Alexis walked over slowly; frightened that she would somehow hurt him just by being in the same room as him. And with good reason, really, because the doctor hadn't been exaggerating about how bad he looked. His face was bruised and pale, but the doctor hadn't mentioned all the scratches that marred his cheek and a spot above his eye. Like Beckett, he was wearing a plain hospital gown, but she could see the bandages that were wrapped around his chest from his armpits down to somewhere under the blankets.

"Go on, sweetheart," Martha whispered, when Alexis hesitated.

She nodded and went over to stand beside his bed, her hand going out automatically to take his hand, carefully.

"Daddy?"

He didn't open his eyes, but she felt the hand she was holding tighten a little in her grip.

Martha went around to the other side and took his other hand, careful to avoid the IV that he was hooked up to. He didn't open his eyes at her touch, either, but neither were worried about that. He was alive and breathing and back with them. That was what was important. Time enough to get him on his feet later. For now they were content to just be there with him.