Rick awoke with a start. It took him a moment to remember where he was, groaning at his body's stiffness when he tried to get up from his chair. He stretched and reached up to rub at a kink in his neck, blearily looking around.
Alexis still slept peacefully, wearing a contented grin and clutching the little brown bear. Rick smiled at her. Last night she had clung to him as he sat on her bed and reassured her with quiet, gentle words until she finally fell asleep in his arms.
He glanced over to the other bed. The privacy curtain had been pulled back to reveal Mackenzie, who was awake and watching him intently. Even without her hair, he could see the resemblance to her mother reflected in her expressive green eyes. He walked over to her bedside.
"I thought you were going to sleep forever. I'm Mackenzie."
Rick smiled at her and her bold statement. "Good morning, Mackenzie. My name is Rick. I'm pleased to meet you."
Rick took her offered hand, but instead of shaking it, he bent over and placed a kiss on the back. Mackenzie giggled.
"Is that your daughter?" She pointed over at Alexis's sleeping form.
"Yes, her name is Alexis. She'll be your roommate for a few days."
"Oh, good. She can come to my birthday party. You can come too. I'm going to be 5 on Tuesday. Aunt Lanie and Uncle Javier are going to come. Have you met my mom? She works here and is probably out helping the nurses with stuff. She should be back soon. She's really nice and pretty too. Do you like chocolate cake? It's my favorite. I asked Mama to bring some for my birthday. Are you going to come?"
Rick had never heard a child speak so quickly or energetically before. When both of his children were five years old, they could talk, but this girl left them way behind.
He chuckled at the similarities between Mackenzie and her mother. Her green eyes expressed excitement, twinkling as she talked and literally sparkled at the mention of chocolate.
He noticed differences too, probably attributable to her sickness; her skin had a bluish tint and she had dark rings under her eyes. He'd also seen her wince in pain as she offered her hand to him in greeting.
"So Rick, can you come to my party? Please? It's going to be so much fun. Mama said she'd get a clown to come here to make balloon animals, only I know that it's just Uncle Javier's friend Kevin dressed like a clown and he only knows how to make a dog. His clown act is okay." She giggled again and then turned her head to look behind him. "Good morning Mama. I was just inviting Rick to my party and telling him about the clown."
Rick turned around to see Kate leaning against the door frame with an amused smile on her face. He wondered how she could look so fresh after staying up half the night. Her hair wasn't as wavy as the night before, pulled back with a headband and mostly straight. He'd never seen someone look sexy in scrubs before, but somehow she managed it.
Her bemused expression shifted from Mackenzie, to him, and back to Mackenzie. "All right young lady. You've already invited enough people. Anyway, you'll wear yourself out talking so much, and this poor man hasn't had a chance to even wake up yet." Kate flashed him a bright smile and handed him a toiletry bag.
"Here, I thought you might need this since you didn't plan on staying in our luxurious accommodations," she leaned in close and whispered "equipped with fully-functional torture racks that double as recliners."
Rick accepted the bag and reached for his own sore neck, grinning in agreement. Kate turned around to point at Mackenzie.
"You - rest now. Dr. Clarke will be in to check on you in a few minutes and you have chemo and radiation in an hour."
Mackenzie started to protest, but quieted at Kate's look. With that, Kate popped a thermometer into her mouth and pulled the blood pressure cuff from the wall.
Rick retreated into the bathroom to freshen up. When he returned, he found Alexis awake and sitting up with a thermometer in her mouth. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
"Ndaddy, yo fill heayo!" Kate shushed at Alexis's attempts to talk around her thermometer and continued marking her chart. When finished, she replaced the chart and turning to Rick offered, "Coffee or tea?"
"Uh, coffee please. Cream, no sugar."
"Wall Street Journal, or Times?"
"Times, please."
Turning to Alexis to remove the thermometer, she asked, "How about you Lexi, would you like a book of fairy tales, silly poems or adventures?"
Alexis immediately declared "fairy tales" as soon as her mouth was free. Kate addressed Rick once again.
"The doctor will be in shortly. I believe she wanted to discuss Alexis's medication and a new diet." She paused at the door. "I'll be back shortly with your coffee and paper. Can I get you anything else?"
"No, thank you."
Kate gave the girls a mock-stern look. "You two rest, and no horsing around either, that includes making each other laugh."
She winked at Alexis and disappeared around the corner. Both girls immediately burst into giggles until they caught Rick's look, complete with raised eyebrow. They both covered their mouths to try unsuccessfully to stifle their mirth.
Rick had just settled back into his chair when he heard his name called from the hallway. What now? he wondered. He leaned his head into the hallway to see Martha trying to restrain a determined Paula Haas from coming down the hallway.
"Richard, what is this all about? Your mother told me you wouldn't be at the meeting this morning."
Rick stepped into the hallway and carefully closed the door behind him. Crossing his arms defiantly during Paula's tirade, he waited patiently for her to finish.
"Paula, please keep your voice down. You are more than capable at negotiating on my behalf. I've seen you do it before. Just pretend that I'm sitting in a corner or something and remember to be pleasant with the representative from Black Pawn."
Paula rolled her eyes and scoffed at him. "Who? Gina? It's impossible to be pleasant to that woman. She's like a-" She flicked her wrist dismissively until she saw the incredulous look on his face.
"I'm sorry Richard, I did pass along your message, but she just wouldn't listen." Martha looked apologetic as she handed Rick his overnight bag.
"Well I tried to call you Richard, but I think your phone was turned off."
"Paula, I stayed overnight in a room with two very sick little girls and I didn't want them disturbed. Now, I need to meet with Alexis's doctor today, so I need you to handle the meeting by yourself."
At her incredulous stare, he firmed his voice. "Yes, yourself. Gina will understand. Just explain that Alexis is in the hospital."
Paula knew she wasn't going to get her way when he used that tone. She'd heard it before, but not since Kyra's death. She acquiesced and slung her bag higher on her shoulder.
"All right, well James Patterson has officially accepted the invitation to your book launch party, so you better show up this time."
"James Patterson?" Kate blushed slightly as she realized how she knew this man. Not one for being embarrassed, she quickly covered it up. "Just what could possibly cause you to miss your own book launch? Were you arrested during the party?"
Paula and Martha both stared open mouthed at the comments coming from the woman behind them. Paula disdainfully eyed Kate up and down.
"Please, Miss Nightingale, this is a private conversation. Just go about your business." Kate put one hand on her hip and turned to face Paula. Send me on my way, will you? She addressed Paula caustically.
"Are you a family member of a patient here?" Paula shook her head and started to explain that she was Richard's agent. Kate cut her off. "In that case, you need to leave. My 'business' includes keeping pediatrics quiet and free of stress for the comfort of my patients. We don't need any aristocratic harpies screaming in the hallway, delaying their recovery."
She pulled on Paula's sleeve, turning her around, and then gave her a nudge toward the elevator.
"But you don't understand how important..."
Kate put her hand on Paula's back and pushed a little more forcefully. "You may return during normal visiting hours."
Paula looked back over her shoulder at Rick and sputtered her objection. "Richard, tell her who I am!"
Rick gave her an apologetic look and shrugged slightly. "Sorry Paula, those are the rules. Have fun at the meeting."
Paula turned around, but was forced to continue walking backwards by one angry and determined Kate Beckett. Paula bumped into the elevator doors, as Kate reached around her to press the button. She crossed her arms and glared at Paula while they waited for the doors to open. Paula made one more attempt to get her way as the doors opened and Kate forced her into the elevator.
Kate waved as the doors closed, Paula still sputtering her objections to her treatment. Kate turned around and walked back to the two people, whose mouths were both hanging slightly open.
"Some people have no manners." She handed Rick his paper and coffee. "What?" she asked off their looks.
Martha recovered first. "Not many people can put the woman in her place so effectively."
She reached over to take Kate's hand. "I'm Martha Rodgers, Richard's mother."
Kate smiled warily at her. "I'm Kate, Kate Beckett."
Richard watched them as his shock wore off, and then chuckled at the exchange between his mother and Kate. He could tell they would eventually become friends. Kate turned back to Rick and eyed him approvingly.
"That's more like it. You should laugh more often." She picked up a book of fairy tales from the chair next to the door. "Now, if you will both excuse me, our little darlings are waiting for a knight in shining armor to rescue the damsel in distress before breakfast." She gave them a wink and disappeared into the room.
"Wow!" Martha exclaimed, still staring at the door where Kate had gone.
"You don't know the half of it, Mother. She's unlike anyone I've ever met before, like a extraordinary puzzle." Rick trailed off, thoughtfully sipping his coffee.
Martha studied her son with a hopeful heart. Richard hadn't shown interest in anyone, especially a woman, since Kyra died. "In what way?"
Rick was startled from his thoughts of Kate by Martha's question. "Oh, well, she works here as a nurses aide, but she tends to more than just the physical needs. Her daughter is quite sick with cancer, but they're both sociable, cheerful and full of ... life."
He paused a moment and stared into his coffee. "One minute, she's retelling a ridiculous story, and the next she's comforting our fears and pain like she's known us her whole life. It's like I'm on an emotional pendulum when she's around."
Martha stared at her son, amazed at his candor. She didn't have time to press for anything else, since a petite, matronly looking doctor approached them. "Good morning Mr. Castle. I'm Dr. Dorothy Clarke. I'd like to check on these two in here, and then have a chat about some possible lifestyle changes for Alexis."
Rick shook her hand and then introduced Martha. "Fine. Dr. Clarke, this is my mother, Martha. She cares for my children when I need additional help."
The doctor nodded her greeting as she entered the room to check on Alexis and Mackenzie. "Good morning, Miss Castle. How are you feeling today?"
She checked Alexis first and reviewed her chart. After asking a few questions, she informed Alexis that she had an appointment with a therapist and nutritionist later that day, but otherwise did not have to stay confined to her room. Then the doctor moved over to look over Mackenzie's chart.
"Miss Mackenzie, back again so soon?" She moved next to her bed to listen to her heart and breath. "Deep breath. Now again. How are your head and tummy feeling?"
"Fine."
Dr. Clarke locked eyes with Mackenzie for a second and then called for Kate . "Miss Beckett, would you mind running down to treatment room 'A' and telling Jerry to get it prepped, then come up to fetch Mackenzie?" Kate eyed her suspiciously, but left immediately.
"Okay. Now that mommy is gone, tell me how your body is feeling." Mackenzie released a shaky breath.
"I hurt really bad in my chest, it's so sore and it's hard to breathe." The doctor felt around her chest and noticed some lumps near her armpits. Mackenzie gasped when she touched them.
"How about the headache, still there?"
"Not as bad as before."
"All right, honey. We can give you something for the pain with your breakfast, but we have to wait. You need to go for Chemo and radiation first, okay?"
Dr. Clarke stood up from the bed as Kate and the orderly returned with a wheelchair. They gently lifted her into it and wheeled her out, Kate trailing apprehensively behind. The doctor turned back to Alexis. "I'm going to steal your dad for a few minutes Alexis. You're breakfast should be here in a minute." She smiled at her, then motioned for Rick and Martha to follow and took them down the hall to her office.
Once they were seated, Dr. Clarke explained Alexis's condition again, repeating what Richard had heard last night. She offered them some dietary guidelines, then asked them several questions about Alexis's lifestyle. Rick told her about her mother's death and shocked Martha by also explaining that his withdrawal probably contributed to Alexis's anxiety. Dr. Clarke concluded.
"I want to start Alexis on regular therapy with some specific relaxation exercises. I've set an appointment for today at 2. Since the duodenal ulcer is rare in children, I'd like to keep her here for another 2 days for observation, but she need not stay confined to her room."
She handed them a brochure. "The activity center is located down the hall on the right and we have a very pleasant roof garden if she would like to go outside. I encourage family members to stay or visit and even short outings are allowed. If you need anything, just ask Miss Beckett. She does an excellent job of looking after our patients' families."
After determining that they had no further questions, she shook their hands and left to attend another patient. Rick and Martha made their way back to Alexis's room.
"Mother, I think I'll work from here today. Please bring Aiden here for a visit after he returns from school." Martha nodded as she accepted the request.
"Thank you," Richard gave her a hasty hug. Martha was startled by the sudden show of affection. Yes, this Kate Beckett is just what the doctor ordered, she thought as she watched Richard walk away.
Rick returned to find Alexis finishing her breakfast. She looked up at him and grinned.
"Hi Daddy. Kate brought you your breakfast. She thought it was boring, but she got you eggs and toast. She pointed to the side table. "I'm feeling better. May I go to the activity center after breakfast?"
She took another bite as Rick sat down on the bed and hugged her from the side. "Of course you can, Pumpkin. I'm glad you're feeling better."
Rick pulled his food and paper next to the bed where he and Alexis finished eating in comfortable silence.