CHAPTER 20 – ANOTHER PLACE

The world flickered and blurred; Kate felt it slipping away from her. She could hear noises, see lights, hear someone calling her name? But it was all too far away; she gave up on trying to listen. There was another light that was pulling her in, leading her somewhere warm, somewhere safe.

She felt the light surround her – and HE was there. Rick. He put his arms around her, then kissed her passionately. He helped her take her clothes off, and ran his hands over her smooth skin.

"No scars," she whispered. Rick smiled.

"I loved you with them, I love you without them."

He slid to his knees, taking her pants down with him, kissing her abdomen, his hands running over her body creating trails of electricity. She looked around.

"Where are we?" she whispered as he tugged her to the ground. It was soft, soft but... light. Rick took off his clothes and his blue eyes sparkled at her.

"Does it matter?" he asked as he kissed her again. She tried to concentrate.

"Yes. I mean – is this real?"

Rick laughed. "Does that matter?"

Kate struggled away from him. "Yes! I mean... what happened?"

Rick stopped laughing and pulled her gently into his arms. "You were shot. And now you're here."

"Then you're not the real Castle. You're just in my mind."

"So?"

Kate looked around. She had to go.

"How do I get back?"

"You can't go back," he said sadly.

"No! No, I'm not dead!"

She thought she could hear something else; she ran towards the sound. She was in some kind of building now – like a hospital, maybe, but there were no people. Rick ran at her side.

"You're so close... You should just give in. You can rest, now. You've earned it. I'll be with you."

Kate groaned. The sounds were getting louder, she was getting flashes of another place. Beeping, lights, shouting – and PAIN. She stumbled, falling to her knees. Rick put his hand on her shoulder.

"You're not strong enough for this. Come away from here with me."

Kate forced herself to stand again. Her stomach felt like it was being torn to pieces, she couldn't hold in a scream as she staggered to her feet.

"No," she gasped. "I'm going back. I want to live."

She forced herself to keep moving towards the sound. The pain got stronger and stronger, she knew she was close to fainting. She clenched her fists. Rick was fading. He had stopped speaking; she was leaving him behind.

She felt as if she was walking through treacle. She pushed her way through, crying out with every step. She put her hand to her stomach; she was dressed only in her underwear. And there was blood seeping out of it. She pressed her hand against the wound and kept moving, forcing herself to get closer to the sounds, the pain, the real world...

Rick paced around the waiting room, not knowing what to do. He was also very aware that killing 5 guys did not make them safe, and frequently glanced at the door, half expecting some men in black to come in and start shooting at him.

It was hours before anyone spoke to him. When the surgeon came in Rick wasn't even sure if he wanted to hear what the man had to say.

"Is she alive?" was the first thing he asked.

"Yes," the surgeon replied. Rick sighed with relief. "She's still unconscious, but we're moving her to a room and we expect her to wake up in a few hours. She's a fighter, that one. She had fairly severe internal bleeding, but we've patched her up and she should recover in a matter of weeks."

"Weeks," Rick muttered quietly. "Can I see her?"

"As I said, she's still out, but as soon as she's settled we'll let you in to sit with her."

"Thank you."

It was about half an hour before Rick was allowed into Kate's room. She was lying in the bed, arranged far too neatly. She was very pale; she looked... weak. He put his hand over hers and watched her eyelids flicker as she dreamed.

A nurse came in and called him Mr Smith. He remembered his name was Ryan, and hers was Sally. The nurse gave him a cup of coffee and changed Kate's drip.

"She's on some pretty strong pain meds," the nurse told him. "So she might be a little off when she wakes up. People react differently, she won't feel bad. It's a bit like a high," she said with a wink.

"When will she wake up?"

"Shouldn't be more than an hour or so. The police will come in the morning to talk to her – and you."

"Oh... tomorrow?"

"Yeah. She was shot, they'll have to see if she saw anything. Looks like a robbery gone wrong – but what they don't know is who killed everyone else."

"Killed?" Rick said, pretending to be shocked.

"Yeah – five men, all shot dead. They found the guns that killed them, too. But not who it was. Maybe there was another guy and he shot his friends. But what I don't get is, who would want to rob a tiny gas station in the middle of nowhere?"

"I don't know... It's terrible."

"Yeah – awful! I'm just glad your girlfriend's okay. What's her name?"

"Sally."

"Pretty name. She's beautiful."

Rick nodded. "I know."

"And strong. Not many people survive being shot like that. She's... Never mind."

"What?"

"Well... she's been in the wars, hasn't she? I had to clean her up; she's covered in scars. She's been shot before."

Rick wondered what to say. He hadn't really thought this far into their back story.

"We haven't been going out all that long," he said eventually. "I mean, I know she's got scars, but I didn't want to pry too much. They're from her job, she's a kind of bodyguard. But I don't know the story behind each one."

The nurse smiled, a little embarrassed that she had asked, but still curious about 'Sally'.

"Well, I have to go. Job to do and all that. If she wakes up while I'm still on shift I guess I'll see you again. Good luck."

"Thanks. Have a good night."

"You too," the nurse said as she left the room.

Rick did his best to stay awake as he sat at Kate's side, but he was almost asleep when her eyes opened. He jumped as her fingers twitched in his.

"K-Sally!" he said smiling. Kate blinked. She was in a hospital.

"What... what happened?"

"You were shot, in a gas station robbery. How do you feel, Sally?"

Kate caught on immediately. The memories were flooding back to her.

"I feel fantastic, R-"

"Ryan."

"Ryan. I'm so glad you're here. But we have to leave."

"You're high on drugs."

Kate thought about it. "Yes, I am. We still have to leave. Do me a favour?"

"Anything."

Kate laughed. "Lift up the blanket and take a look, see what we're dealing with."

Rick did as she said. There was a small wound in her stomach, bandaged up.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

Kate tried to sit up and groaned loudly. Rick supported her with his hands and she managed to get to the edge of the bed. She could just about stand, but Rick was taking almost all of her weight, and even with the medication the pain was close to unbearable.

"Okay, I have a plan," she said. "Get a wheelchair. And some clothes if you can find any."

Rick laughed. "On it. But just so you know, you're rocking the hospital gown."

"Thanks. Hurry up, before someone comes in."

Rick nodded and hurried out of the room. Kate gritted her teeth and yanked the IV out of her arm. She found a bandage on the counter at the side of the room and pressed it against the hole the needle had left. She was leaning heavily on the bed; she was exhausted. Rick came in pushing a wheelchair, and guided her into it. He hadn't found any clothes but he gave her his sweater and she put it on gratefully. He pushed her out of the room and into the corridor, wheeling her as fast as he could without drawing attention to them.

They made it to the exit without being noticed, and Rick waved down a cab. He told the driver to take them to the hotel. Kate nodded. That was the safest bet for now.

The ride took about an hour; Rick paid and lifted her out. Kate felt too weak to protest. The hotel manager saw them coming in and asked at once if there was anything he could do. Rick asked for clothes, cash, and another car. The manager laughed.

"It's always interesting when you stay here, Mr Castle. I'll give you that."

Rick nodded and carried Kate up to the room. He put her gently on the bed and she smiled.

"Thanks," she said.

"Always," he replied. "And congratulations. You killed four of them."

"There were five-"

"I took care of the last one."

"Wow. You killed someone."

"I kept my eyes closed."

Kate laughed, but winced as the movement jolted her stomach.

"It's not over," she said quietly. "It can't be."

Rick frowned. "No. But maybe for now..?"

"No. I've made them angry. It's only going to get worse."

"I've always admired your optimism."

"Look at it this way. It'll all be over soon, one way or the other."

"One way being we kill them all, the other way being they kill us?"

"Pretty much."

"Which is more likely?"

"Probably them killing us. Especially since I'm in no condition to fight. I can't believe I let one of them shoot me!"

"One of you against five trained killers – and you lived."

"I'm a trained killer."

"They were scary looking guys. You should be proud."

"I feel like an idiot."

"Well. That's your fault. You should have taken me with you."

Kate raised her eyebrows. "So you could have gotten yourself shot as well?"

"Maybe I would have saved you."

"Yeah. Right."

"Hey. I did save you."

Kate smiled. "Yes, you did."

"What do you remember? Do you remember being in the ambulance?"

Kate bit her lip. "I remember everything... I mean, I was sort of slipping in and out. I had this weird dream. But I remember..." she bit her lip. Rick looked apologetic.

"I only said it because I thought you were going to die and I didn't... I mean, I didn't want to rush you-"

Kate put up her hand. "I'm glad you said it. It was sweet." But it doesn't change anything, she thought to herself. She would still have to leave him.

"So... what's our next move?" he asked.

"I think... I have to get a bit better. Staying here seems to be working. I hope they won't think to look for us here. And then... we have to go to New York. I don't want to. I don't think it'll work. But I need to know who I'm dealing with."

"Do you have any more ideas?"

"I'm still thinking something to do with my mother. And the gas station proved beyond doubt that it's someone in MI6 that's letting them know where I am."

"Do you think... could your mother's murder have had something to do with MI6? What about the guy that recruited you? Maybe something to do with keeping your enemies close?"

Kate nodded. "That's not a bad theory. Which would mean... he's in London."

"Maybe going to London wouldn't be such a bad plan."

"Have you ever been there?"

Rick shook his head. "Always wanted to. Would you recommend it?"

"Definitely. It's a wonderful city. But we can't get there... Oh shit."

"What?"

"We're going to have to steal a plane. You wouldn't know how to fly, I don't suppose?"

Rick laughed. "Nope. No idea."

Kate grinned. "Great. At least you can fly sitting down, and the plan we'll get has two sets of controls. I'll teach you."

"Why can't we just fly like normal people?"

"Something about planes. They're in the sky and you're kind of stuck in them."

"Right. But would they really know which plane we were on?"

"Airports have very good security. They'll be looking out for both of us."

"So we really will have to fly under the radar."

Kate grinned. "There won't be much time for sightseeing. We go in, we find him, we find out if he did it, and if he did, we fill him with holes and we go home."

Rick pulled the murder board out of the bathroom.

"It does make sense."

"We have no proof."

"Do you always need proof to kill?"

Kate became very serious. "Yes. I need to be convinced."

Rick nodded. "I thought you would. I hope it's him. What's his name?"

"I don't know... he's incredibly connected. We used to call him the octopus."

"Why octopus?"

"Because he has slithery fingers in a lot of pies. And he's a slimy bastard."

"Would you mind killing him?"

Kate thought about it. "No. He was horrible. He just wanted to use me. I'd mind killing the people protecting him, though. And he might be hard to kill... he's old, but he's well trained."

"When can we go?"

"When I can walk. And... Look, I know this is a good idea. But I'm not convinced. I think we have to go because even if he isn't to blame, he might well know something."

"I think you just want to go back to London."

Kate smiled. "I do like it."

"And you want to steal a plane."

"Flying is pretty amazing."

"I've never been hugely keen on it."

"You've never flown in a real plane."

Rick lay down on the bed beside her. "Maybe you should take drugs more. They help you make plans."

"Maybe," Kate said quietly. Rick put his arm around her and she closed her eyes to go to sleep. She was exhausted, and she knew the meds would wear off in a few hours. She should rest while she could.