The nurse smiled at her as she went to continue her rounds, pushing the medicine cart towards the next patient. Beckett's eyes must have been the clear window to her emotions, because without even saying it, without even moving her body, Lory seemed to know. The woman seemed to see, to understand the distress in her eyes, the yearning in her body, the desire for something finally familiar. A couple of feet away, the woman in scrubs paused and smiled. She put her index finger up and with a wink; Lory announced she'd be back. For the first time in this long tumultuous day, Kate seemed to relax as she buried her body in the sofa.

Kate had closed her eyes, trying not to think about how messed up all of this really was, still not fully understanding its implications. A couple of minutes later, Lory came back, free of the cart, as she extended her hand to Kate, asking with her friendly tone, "So girl, how about I show you around?"

"I'd like that. It would be nice," answered Kate with a shy smile as she took the hand offered to help her to her feet.

"Good," added Lory, a smile beaming, as both woman stood face to face. The smaller woman hooked their arms together and started walking pulling Kate with her.

Together, their arms tied, they walked through the common areas. The walked across the sofas; they bypassed the food; they looked through the windows and they saluted the people they met. Lory was talking, the familiar voice, the expressions, the nicknames, all appeasing to Kate. She explained the procedures, how they operated there. Kate was introduced to people, doctors, nurses, patients, some of them who already seemed to know her, some of them even felt familiar. But for the most part, Kate felt like it was her first time there.

The tour of the common areas was over, but Kate was holding on to the woman like someone would cling to its lifejacket after being thrown in the river. She was swimming in rapids and there had been no rock to hold on to until the friendly face had come along. She was not ready to let go.

They walked through the corridors, up and down, Lory talking and Kate listening. When it had been clear to the nurse, that Kate wasn't ready to let go just yet, she had started talking. She talked about everything and anything, about the weather, about her cat, about her boyfriend who she'd fought with the night before and Kate was more than grateful to have an escape from her own thoughts.

Turning her face towards the tall woman at her arm and smiling, Lory jokingly stated, hoping to get a few words out of the woman, "I always thought you were a good listener, girl, hope I'm not boring you with all this relationship mumbo-jumbo."

Kate smiled, her first genuine smile of the day, at the women and shook her head, "I'm grateful, actually."

They changed corridors and passing in front of the nurses' station, Lory waved at her co-workers. Kate did her best to smile at them.

Leaving the desk behind them, as they continued their walk, Kate still could make out the murmuring of one nurse to the other. "Poor girl, so much stress. I guess, he finally managed to get her meds right. Did you hear about her-"

The rest of the conversation was lost to her as Lory unhooked their arms and extended her arm around Kate's shoulder, bringer her closer. Their shoulders were colliding and Lory put her hand over her ear and laid the taller woman's head over her shoulder. Kate wasn't ready to hear that, and silently, she cursed at the other women for their lack of compassion. This kind of stress was exactly what had had her snap in the first place.

Kate was surprised, by the gesture, but she leaned into it. She couldn't tell if that was what finally made it click, but finally, she was over the denial stage, slowly tending to acceptance. She trusted the woman and even though she knew Lanie and Lory weren't one, when she looked at that face, she saw a friend. A confidant to whom she could finally say what was going on in her head. "Hey Lory, tell me something. How long have I been here?"

The nurse smiled, nodding, "How about we talk over coffee?"

Kate's eyes lit up to the mention of her drink of choice. Coffee would be great. Coffee would be awesome, actually.

The nurse's smile grew even bigger at Kate's reaction. They both halted and double-backed.

Stopping beside what looked like the entrance to an office, Lory told her, "Wait here," as she knocked. Kate waited beside the arch of the open door, leaning on the wall observing her surroundings and listening.

Even though the voices where hushed whispers, she could still make out most of the conversation going on, on the other side of the wall.

"Lory, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, just yesterday…" Kate could hear the doctor's muffled voice from where she was standing.

"We'll just go to the downstairs visitor's cafeteria. Look Steve, she needs this. It will be good for her."

Doctor Marx sighed in acceptance and Kate was grateful.

They had sat down, and Kate felt safe, safer than she had in a very long time, so she talked. She wasn't even sure any of it actually made sense but she needed everything out. She talked about Castle; she talked about her job as a homicide detective. She told her about waking up here about realising she wasn't the person she thought she was and it was Lory's turn to listen. The woman was doing a magnificent job at it, commenting when needed and squeezing her hand when she thought she was going to lose it. Finally everything seemed aired out and Kate was out of breath.

The hot beverage was in her hand, she took a sip. It wasn't as good as Castle's, it was horrible actually, but it was coffee. The taste reminded her of the coffee at the precinct before Castle had bought that fancy espresso machine. She quickly brushed the thought away. None of it had happened. She wasn't Beckett, the badass detective. She was Kate, the psychotic addict.

It was time to admit it. Her breathing was fast and loud, "I'm an addict?" She wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement when it came out, but punctuating the words in her mind, she knew them to be true. With that, she had taken the first step towards her recovery.

"I'm an addict and it seriously messed me up. I've been here for seven weeks. It's been seven weeks. That's seven weeks where I imagined myself a successful detective. That's seven weeks I don't remember. And given the fact that the years previous aren't exactly clear in my head. I really am at home here, am I? I'm going crazy. No, I'm not, I already am."

"You're not going crazy, Kate. You're actually coming back."

"I thought I was engaged to Richard freakin' Castle. I was sure of it. Now tell me that's not crazy talk!"

Thoughts? Comments? Complaints?