Kidnapped Ch.27
'Kate, where's dad?' Alexis asked, worried. Her father was definitely not the kind of person who will just leave Kate crying on her own.
Kate shook her head, rivers streaming down her face. She tried to stand up, but a sharp pain in her abdomen caused her to sit down abruptly with a sharp gasp. Alexis placed immediately rushed over, concern in her eyes.
'You should know better than to get out of bed after surgery, Kate,' Alexis told her, feeling as though she was the mother hen in their relationship. 'What do you want to do?'
'I need to go see Ollie,' Kate told her, slowly letting out a breath as the pain began to dissipate.
Alexis frowned. Shouldn't her dad be here to take care of her properly? 'Kate, what happened? Where's dad?' Alexis repeated, a nagging thought tugging on the edge of her mind.
'Please, Lexie. Just let me go see Ollie,' Kate insisted, half-crying, avoiding the question once again. Holding in another sob, she jabbed the call button over and over, demanding a wheelchair from the nurse who picked up in a shaky, wobbly voice.
Alexis, not knowing what else to do, sat down cautiously on the narrow hospital bed and wrapped her arms around her mother. Something was obviously not right, and she could do nothing to help Kate.
Where was her father when she needed him?
'He was willing to give up on him, you know?' Kate mumbled softly, her eyes never leaving Oliver's peaceful face as she held him close, watching him sleep. 'He was willing to give up on him, just like that.'
'Kate… you know that the decision was one of the hardest ones that dad had ever made, right?' Alexis asked.
'I know it is, but Oliver is his son. How can he be ready to just give him up on a snap decision?' Kate asked helplessly. 'If they hadn't taken Oliver out, it would be safer for him. My heart would have lasted another week or two. Then he would be bigger, stronger –'
'Kate, if the doctors had done that, you would most probably not be here now,' Alexis told her, confused at Kate's logic.
'And how am I supposed to make it if Ollie was gone? He's part of the reason I held on so tightly to this life, Alexis. When I was kidnapped and had lost all hope… All I want is for my family to be safe,' Kate cried, the frustration finally exploding out of her. 'What if Ollie was too weak? What if he had died? How am I supposed to recover from that?'
'And how would you expect dad to make it if you had gone?' Alexis retorted, her tone sharper than she meant it to be. 'If he had chosen the baby, then you could have easily died, Kate. He would never recover from that, either,' Alexis told her, her tone softening slightly as she kneeled next to Kate. 'What about me, Kate? You are not just another of my dad's girlfriends, you're my friend. My mother. You promised that we would have more 'girl time'. How do you expect me to make it if you were gone?'
'Kate,' another voice sounded from the doorway. She turned her head slowly, careful not to wake the sleeping baby in her arms. Castle stood by the doorway, his eyes red and swollen.
'Rick,' Kate breathed. Gently, she placed Oliver back into the box, and tucked the blanket around him. Castle walked over with the air of a broken man, and he lightly traced the contours of Oliver's face, a sad smile on his lips.
'I'm so sorry, Kate. I should have never used Oliver's life as a gamble to make sure you would come back to me,' Castle told her, placing his hand on her shoulder tentatively, testing the waters between their relationship.
'No, Rick. I'm sorry. This could not have been easy on you. You shouldn't have had to make that choice. It was my fault. I was the one who put you in the position to have to make that decision,' Kate told him.
'Kate, this is not your fault. No one could have known that he would be there,' Castle told her. 'But you are both safe now, and that's all that matters.'
'Yes, we are all safe now, until he comes again,' Kate murmured. Her gaze dropped to the floor. Castle head shot up in alarm.
'What are you talking about?' Castle asked, an almost harsh tone to his voice, and Alexis stepped closer, her heart plummeting down to her stomach, as Kate confirmed her worst fears.
'I got a text from the boys right after I told you to leave the room. They said…' Kate clutched onto Castle's and Alexis' hands, choking back a tidal wave of concentrated fear and terror as she struggled to finish the sentence.
'They said that Bracken is still in the wind.'
A/N: Alright, this is a really bad chapter, and I'm really sorry about it. I have been running a 102˚F (38.8˚C) fever for the past couple of days, so my mind is really woozy at the moment, so bear with me. I was really tempted to type out a short author's note and post the actual chapter on Thursday, but I felt really mean, so here you go, a short chapter, and I hope that you all still find it alright.
As usual, PLEASE REVIEW! Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please.
UPDATE (31/10): Also, this chapter is dedicated to my brilliant beta Bianca tabbycat, who had re-beta-ed this chapter since she was unsatisfied with the state of the uncorrected chapter (I must say I agree wholeheartedly).
Happy Halloween!
Zoe tabbycat