"Now look what you've done missy, you've got my shirt covered in paint. What's your mommy going to say when she gets home?" Rick laughed as he stared at the red handprints that covered the green shirt he was wearing while his daughter sat on his lap, smiling to herself. Looking at his phone, he smiled at the time before kissing his daughters head. "And that should be pretty soon" he beamed, thinking about the time and how Kate would be home soon. Hearing a knock at the door, he turned to look at it before standing, holding Johanna into his side as he opened it to reveal a panicked Lanie. "Lanie?" He asked.

"You need to come to the hospital. Kate's been shot" she sobbed as he stared in shock, his whole world crashing around him as he ran out of the apartment, holding his daughter close to him as he tried to hold back the tears.

XOXOXOXOXO

Entering the waiting room, Rick stared at the male detective who was sitting ther, his head buried in his hands while he remained perfectly silent. It was clear he was devastated over what had happened, especially about the fact it had happened when he was supposed to be looking after her.

"Javier it wasn't your fault" Lanie muttered, approaching the cop quickly to wrap her arms around him while Rick continued to stare in shock. Looking up, Esposito watched the writer for a moment before he bit into his lip.

"We were walking, just going to lunch and then she just gasped. I'd turned around for a second" he admitted, Rick slowly sitting down as he listened. "Then when I turned around, she was collapsing and she said your name Castle before she passed out" he explained, Rick shutting his eyes for a moment as his daughter remained silent in his arms.

"Lanie's right Esposito, it wasn't your fault" Rick muttered to his friend, knowing he couldn't blame him for what had happened. Hearing the door open, he looked up to see Alexis standing there with Martha, his daughter immediately running over to wrap her arms around him, tears running down her cheeks.

"We just heard, I'm so sorry dad" the young redhead muttered as her father nodded slowly and kissed the top of her head, his mother joining them quickly to wrap her arms around them both but also the small child in Rick's arms.

"Watch Johanna, she's covered in paint" he admitted, both redheads immediately staring down at the dark haired child who was smiling to herself. "We were painting when we got the news" he muttered, his eyes shutting for a moment at the memory before the door opened again to reveal a familiar face.

"Mr Castle?" a familiar voice asked as Rick nodded quickly. "I just finished the operation on Kate" he smiled as Rick nodded, approaching him quickly to hear more as Rick held Johanna slightly closer to him. "She lost a lot of blood but she'll be alright, she's just being moved into a private room and then you'll be allowed to come and see her. She's just still out from the operation" he explained, Rick nodding quickly again before a nurse approached and nodded at the doctor. "Mr Castle you can come and see her now" he explained.

"Thanks" Rick muttered, turning to see everyone nodding at him as he left.

"That must be awkward" Lanie commented, Alexis and Martha staring at her in confusion. "That's Josh Davidson, he proposed to Kate just before she stared going out with your dad" the ME explained, Alexis raising her eyebrows at the new fact. "Remember when he got knocked out at the precinct?" she asked, the redhead nodding quickly as the ME smiled. "That was Josh".

Following Josh down the corridor, he slowly entered the small hospital room to see Kate lying perfectly still while the machine beside her bed beeped. "Kate" he whispered, walking over to her quickly to sit beside her.

"I'll leave you alone" the doctor announced, slipping out of the room quickly as Johanna reached out towards Kate, tears filling her eyes.

"She'll be okay honey, she's a fighter. She's been through so much worse than this" he explained, kissing Kate quickly before running a finger down his daughter's cheek. "Your mommy is so beautiful" he sighed as he stood up and began to walk around the room with their daughter. "You're so lucky you got her eyes, they were the first thing I fell in love with when I met her" he explained to the child in his arms, her hands still reaching out towards Kate as he shook his head. "She's asleep baby, she can't hold you".

Hearing the door open, he turned to see Martha standing there, worry covering her face as she approached the brunette and pressed a kiss to Kate's forehead before turning to look at her son, already seeing the fear in his eyes.

"She'll be okay Richard" Martha sighed as she approached her son and granddaughter. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked, his head nodding quickly as he sat down beside his fiancée again.

"You could look after Jo and Alexis for me tonight, I can't keep an eye on them while worrying about Kate" he whispered, Martha nodding quickly as she slipped her granddaughter into her arms, immediately groaning at the paint that covered her arms. "She needs a bath, we were doing a picture for when Kate got home" he admitted.

"Of?" Martha asked.

"Kate told me about how her mother and her did a picture when she was Jo's age of her hands and feet. Apparently Johanna kept it on the fridge. We were doing one for Kate because she hasn't found hers in her dad's house yet" Rick explained as Martha nodded and smiled.

"I'll bring it here tonight if you want, with a bag for you" she announced, Rick nodding quickly before kissing her cheek and then pressing a kiss to his daughter's head. "I'll come back later with your stuff" she announced before leaving the room quickly with Johanna, Rick approaching the bed again to hold her hand, clutching onto it tightly.

"You wake up soon detective" he smiled, kissing her quickly before shutting his eyes. "I love you Kate" he added, relaxing back into one of the chairs and staring at her, knowing she'd wake up again soon.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review. The more reviews, the more likely I am to update this quicker, especially seeing that is how I'm working right now with the lack of laptop.