Disclaimers: If I did, I wouldn't be where I am now. That's for damn sure.

Summary: Kate experiences a parents' worst nightmare when she has to take Ari to the emergency room in the middle of the night.

A/N #1: Okay, maybe what I've done with Castle in this chapter is unrealistic, but I'm the pilot of this adventure, okay?

A/N #2: There'll definitely be an M-rated version of this chapter.

Chapter 8: A Nightmare

October

The sound of Ari's crying coming through the baby monitor entered through Kate's brain at the same time as Alexis' frantic cries for her. "Kate! Wake up! Something's wrong with Ariel!"

Kate jumped out of bed and ran out of the bedroom to find Alexis cradling the baby in her arms. "What's wrong?"

"She's burning up! I heard her crying and when I went into the nursery, she was crying and pulling on her ears."

Kate took Ari from Alexis, the heat of fever burning through her nightshirt. "Alexis, call downstairs and tell the doorman to get us a cab! We need to get her to the ER!" Kate pulled out her phone and dialed the pediatrician's answering service. She waited impatiently for someone to answer as she went and got the digital thermometer from hers' and Castle's bathroom. "This is Katherine Castle. My four and a half month old daughter just woke up with a high fever."

"Have you taken her temperature?" The voice over the phone asked.

"I'm doing it now. It's 102.3," Kate said as she stared at the read-out.

"What is your daughter's name and who is her primary pediatrician?"

"Ariel Castle. Her pediatrician is Dr. Paul Fleming."

"Have you given her anything for the fever?"

"No, she just woke up like this. I'm going to take her to Lennox Hill!"

"Okay, Mrs. Castle. I need for you to calm down. Take her to the ER and I'll have Dr. Fleming meet you there."

Kate hung up and scooped Ari up in her arms as the baby continued to scream. "Sweetie, it's okay," Kate crooned as tears ran down her face. She looked to the doorway at Alexis. "Alexis, can you take her? I need to get dressed so that we can go."

"The doorman's going to hold a cab for us, but wouldn't it be faster to take the Ferrari or the Mercedes?''

"Alexis, I can't drive."

"But, I can," Alexis insisted.

"Okay, cancel the cab. Let's just go. I'll call your dad from the ER."

Castle was sitting in his hotel room in Barcelona, watching TV, but not understanding any of it because it was all in Spanish. He jumped when his phone rang. He became concerned when he saw Kate's picture come up on the caller id. It was two in the morning in New York. Kate wouldn't be calling him at this hour unless something was wrong. His heart began to pound when he answered the phone. "Kate, what's wrong?"

"Castle, the baby woke up screaming. She's pulling on her ears and running a 102 fever. Alexis and I are on our way to the ER with her. Castle, I'm scared," she was crying into the phone.

He took a deep breath. God, he was beginning to hate this tour. He could hear Ariel crying in the background. 'Think, Castle,' he thought to himself. 'She needs to hear something reassuring.' "Kate, babies run high fevers all of the time. If she's tugging on her ears, its more than likely an ear infection. Alexis used to get them from time to time."

"But, she's crying so much, Castle. I can't get her to calm down."

"Kate, she's probably in pain. Please tell me you're not talking to me while you're driving."

"No, Alexis is driving. I'm in the back seat with Ari. Castle, I'm scared!"

"Kate, please believe me when I tell you that she's fine. Call me as soon as you see the doctor."

When he got off of the phone from talking to Kate, he called Gina. "Gina, you need to get me home for at least 48 hours. Ariel's sick and Kate needs me."

"Rick, I can't cancel the last leg of your tour," Gina's whining voice drove Rick crazy.

"I'm not saying to cancel it! I'm saying to postpone it. My daughter is on her way to the ER right now and Kate is hysterical."

"Let me see what I can do and I'll call you back. Rick?"

"What?"

"I hope it isn't anything serious."

"Me, too."

***CCC***

When they arrived at the ER, Kate explained to the nurse at the desk what was going on. After handing her a clipboard to fill out, she was instructed to have a seat. Kate tried to hand a now quiet Ari over to her sister so that she could fill out the information, but Ari wasn't having any of it. "I can fill it out, Kate," Alexis took the clipboard. "I'll ask you if there's something that I don't' know."

Kate handed the clipboard to Alexis as she adjusted Ari in her arms. The ER was full of people. Kate remembered when she first met Castle and he'd told her that everybody had a story. To distract herself, she wondered what the story was with the people in this room. She planted a soft kiss to Ari's feverish forehead as her phone buzzed. She dug it out of her pocket and looked at it. She had a text message from Castle. 'Got a postponement for Barcelona and Madrid. Will be home in a.m. for 18 hours. How's Ariel?'

Kate looked at the baby before typing a response. 'Haven't seen doctor yet. It might be a while. Will call or text when I know something. ILY.'

'ILY. Text me the second you know anything. I'll see you in a.m.'

"Your dad's coming home tomorrow for a little while. He's worried about the baby," Kate told her stepdaughter.

"He's worried about you, too. Did I ever tell you about what happened when I was six?" Alexis asked as Kate shook her head. "We were at the park and I thought that I could climb on the jungle gym like the bigger kids. Daddy tried to tell me that I wasn't big enough, but I had to try anyway. I slipped and fell. Daddy was so scared. I broke my wrist and they thought at first that I'd fractured my skull, but it was just a severe concussion. It took him months to let me climb on anything."

"And he had to do it alone."

"He called my mom, but she was on location somewhere at the time. She was mad at him for letting me climb, but it was my fault, not his. I'm sure that he feels bad because he's out of the country and can't be with you. I can bet he won't be going anywhere like that again unless he can take you and Ariel with him. He probably ripped Gina a new one."

"Ariel Castle!" The nurse called out as Kate and Alexis made their way to the trauma rooms. "What seems to be the problem?" The nurse asked.

"She woke up running a high fever. She's also pulling on her ears."

"Let's have a look at her," the nurse reached her hands out for Ari as Kate reluctantly handed her over. "How old is she?"

"She'll be five months old on the 17th."

Ariel began to fuss as the nurse looked her over, but the fussing turned to screams when the nurse looked inside of her ears. "The insides of her ears are very red, so it's probably an ear infection. Just hang tight and Dr. Fleming will be right in."

"No doubt to jab her with needles again," Kate said under her breath when the nurse gave Ari back to her.

Kate was gently rocking and humming to the baby when the doctor entered the room 20 minutes later. "I understand that we have a sick baby on our hands," the doctor washed his hands and dried them before coming over and relieving Kate of the baby. "Has she shown signs of being sick before tonight?"

"No. She's been teething, but other than that, she's been fine."

"Teething?" The doctor looked at Kate. "It's a little soon for that, isn't it?"

"Yeah, well someone forgot to tell her. She's been biting on everything and drooling like crazy," Kate couldn't believe this man. 'Note to self. Shop for new pediatrician.'

"Well, it's definitely an ear infection," he concluded. "I'll give her a shot of penicillin and write you a prescription. She's going to be fine, Mrs. Castle," he smiled at Kate.

It was late morning by the time they got home from the hospital and the pharmacy. Kate placed Ari in her crib and texted Castle. 'Back home from ER. Ari has an ear infection. Got prescription for penicillin. We're all going to go to sleep for a few hours.'

Her phone buzzed a few minutes later. 'At airport. Will catch redeye back to New York tonight. Will be home early in the a.m.'

Kate felt guilty that he was coming home for such a short time when he'd be home for good in less than two weeks. But, at the same time, she really needed him to hold her and ease her fears. It would be wonderful even if was just for a few hours.

***CCC***

Kate was sound asleep when she thought that she was dreaming. But, no. It wasn't a dream. She heard Castle's voice through the baby monitor. "How's my baby girl? I heard that you had a rough day yesterday. Daddy's home for a little while. I missed you so much."

Kate got out of bed and made her way upstairs, stopping in the doorway and smiling at the sight of her husband sitting in the rocker holding their daughter. "You must be exhausted," she couldn't stop smiling. She was so damn glad to see him.

Castle got up and placed Ariel back in her crib before walking over and pulling Kate tightly into his arms, his lips coming down on hers as she moaned into his mouth. She wrapped her arms and legs around him as he walked out of the nursery and back downstairs to their bedroom.

After they made love, Castle lay with his head resting on Kate's stomach as she smoothed her hand through his sweaty hair. "So, when do you have to go back?"

"Tonight," he said in a sad voice. "My flight leaves at 11. It almost wasn't worth it to come home, but I had to. I was so scared, Kate."

"So was I. I'm glad that you're here, Castle. But, Alexis was great. I don't know what I would've done if she hadn't been here."

Kate let Castle sleep for a few hours, but then he got up and spent time playing with Ariel, who was feeling much better than she had the day before. He put her down on the floor on her busy blanket and spent time getting reacquainted with her. He was sad because she seemed to want Kate more than she wanted him. "She doesn't remember me," he said as he got up off of the floor.

"Castle, she sees you on Skype every day," Kate reminded him.

"Yeah, she sees me on a computer screen. It's not the same as seeing me in the flesh. I knew I shouldn't have left you two for so long," he stomped from the room.

"He took me on most of his tours when I was a baby. He never had to deal with me not remembering him," Alexis told Kate.

When Kate walked into their bedroom, Castle was sitting on the edge of the bed staring at the floor. Kate sat down, slipped her arm around his shoulders and rested her head against him. "You're going to be home for good in less than two weeks. She hasn't forgotten you, Rick. She's just gotten used to me, your mother, or Alexis being here with her."

"I always had Alexis with me, Kate. And, when I didn't, I wasn't away from her for more than a week. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when you called me. You shouldn't have had to deal with that alone. I should've been here."

"But, you couldn't be. Ari knows her daddy. I show her your picture a thousand times a day. Before you know it, you're going to be home and telling her stories in the nursery again."

Kate left Ari with Alexis that night so that she could take Rick back to the airport. "I'll be home in 10 days," he told her. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you, too. I love you, and don't even look at those Spanish women," she warned him.

"I'm a one-detective boy," he teased, using her play on being a one-writer girl. "I love you, too. Kiss Ariel for me when you get home."

"I will," she kissed him longingly one last time before he turned and went through the security checkpoint, waving at her from the other side.

Having him home had been wonderful, even if it was for such a short period of time. He'd accomplished everything that she'd wanted him to while he was there and more. She couldn't wait to get him back home and really let him know how much she'd missed him.

A/N #3: I'm no longer as sure that I can get 30 chapters out of this. If anybody has any ideas, please let me know.

I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.