A/N: I'm so sorry about the ridiculously long wait for this chapter, but I have a really good reason this time. My mom's been in the hospital for the past week - she has a heart condition and needed to do a few tests - and well, given the content of this chapter, I tried not to think about it for a while. But I needed a distraction and I know you guys have been waiting, so I finished the half chapter I had already. It's not long and it just deals with the aftermath of Jim drinking himself into oblivion, but I hope you guys like it either way.

Disclaimer: Castle is obviously not mine.

At the end of the tunnel

Chapter 11

Kate had no idea how she had ended up in the hospital. The span of a little over an hour that passed from the moment she found her father unconscious form on the couch to getting him to the hospital was a complete blur in her mind. She had had the presence of mind to call an ambulance and followed the paramedics to the hospital in her own car, since she couldn't ride in the ambulance with the kids.

Her father was rushed inside when they arrived at the hospital and she was directed to the reception to fill out the necessary forms with his personal information. She did it all on autopilot and, when she sat down with Alex and Olivia in the waiting room, she felt it all crashing down on her and she had to bite hard on her lower lip in order to keep from breaking down in front of her children. She tried to get a hold of Jake, so he could at least take the kids away from the hospital, but he never answered his phone, despite the five different messages she left for him asking him to call her back as soon as he got the message.

Her next call was to Rick and, when he picked up with that warm voice of his, she had to fight hard to keep the tears at bay.

"I won't be able to make it to the party tonight." She told him, but tried as she might, her voice still shook and he knew immediately that something was wrong.

"What happened, Kate?" He asked, concerned, and she bit on her lip, trying to keep her emotions in check, especially because Olivia and Alex were both watching her closely.

"My dad… we, uh" She took a deep breath when her voice wavered again. "We're at the hospital. When we got there, he was… we couldn't wake him up." She finished with difficulty and heard Rick moving around on the other end of the line.

"Where are you? Which hospital?"

"Rick, you don't have to do this. You're going to be late." She tried to dissuade him, but he was adamant.

"Kate, which hospital?" He insisted and she rattled off the address to him. "I'll be right there, alright? You guys okay? You and the kids?"

"Yeah." She whispered, looking at her kids. Alex and Olivia were sitting next to each other on the waiting chairs and Olivia was holding onto Alex's hand comfortingly. "I just need to find someone to stay with them. I can't get ahold of Jake."

"We'll figure it out when I get there. I'll see you soon, love. Just give me twenty minutes." He reassured her and she found herself nodding, even though she knew he couldn't see her, before hanging up.

"Mom?" She heard her daughter's timid voice and looked up again, meeting her scared, but steady gaze. "Is grandpa going to be alright?"

"I hope so, honey. The doctors are trying to make him better now." She reached out and touched Olivia's cheek. "But whatever happens, we're going to get through it together, okay?" She tried to reassure her and the girl nodded, looking down.

They stayed in that waiting room for the following thirty minutes and Kate tried her hardest to distract the kids and herself from what could be happening to her father inside that emergency room. She couldn't believe this was happening again. Her dad had been sober for nearly seven years. What could have possibly set him off again, upsetting him so much that had made him fall down head first into the bottle?

Then there was the fact that Rick was on his way there and she knew there was no way she could hide this from him. She had never told him what had happened to her mom, only that she had died years ago. How do you even begin to talk about something like this anyway, right? There was no way she could have casually mentioned that her mother had been brutally murdered and that her killer had never been caught. Not to mention the fact that her father was a recovering alcoholic because of it. Now a relapsing one, apparently.

God, what the hell had he been thinking? He had been doing so well lately. Sure, the fact that today was her mother's birthday was a possible factor, but, damn it, they had gone through several birthdays since he recovered without him drinking himself into oblivion.

"Kate."

His voice made her snap back into reality, her eyes immediately meeting his across the waiting room. He crossed the distance between them and met her by the chairs when she stood up. Pulling her into a hug, Kate felt her tightly held control start to break as a tear escaped her eyes. Burrowing her face into his neck, she tried to draw strength from him and keep her emotions in a tight leash again. She could not break down. Not now. Not in front of her kids.

"Kate, love." He wound his fingers through her hair in a soothing gesture and she finally looked up at him. "Hey, what happened? How's your dad?"

"He…" She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his shoulder for a moment, trying to pull herself together. "He is an alcoholic. But he had been sober for years now. I don't know what happened, but we found him passed out at home, an empty vodka bottle on the floor." She said it all in one breath, wiping away a stubborn tear when she finished.

"What are the doctors saying?" He asked softly, brushing another tear away with his thumb.

"They haven't said anything yet. They're still working on him and they told us to wait out here." She sighed and leaned against him again, feeling her strength slowly leaving her body.

"Okay." He breathed out, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Let's sit here, then. Come on."

He guided her to the chair next to Olivia and made her sit down, taking his place beside her. Kate sighed and leaned against his side, reaching to her left to take her daughter's hand in hers. Her skin was cold with nervous perspiration and Kate tried to soothe her, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on Rick's shoulder and tried to breathe in and out slowly. She needed to have faith that everything was going to be okay, otherwise she would just fall apart right then and there.

Then she felt Rick shift next to her and opened her eyes, smiling when she saw that Alex was busy trying to crawl over to Rick's lap from the chair next to his. He looked at her, lifting an eyebrow in question, and she nodded, so he immediately pulled the boy into his arms and set him on his lap. Alex leaned back against Rick's chest and turned to his mother, slipping his small hand into hers.

"Grandpa's gonna be okay, mommy. I know it." He told her seriously and Kate nodded, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"I know, baby bear." She whispered and brought his hand to her lips, settling against Rick with a sigh. Releasing her daughter's hand, she wrapped an arm around Olivia and pulled her close to her side.

Right then, with three of the people she loved the most in the world around her, she felt like she could really believe that everything was going to be alright.

"You're going to be late." She murmured a few minutes later, nuzzling his neck tiredly. It felt like she had been hit by a car, the way exhaustion was eating away at her.

"I already called Gina and Paula on my way over here. Told them I'd be a little late because of a family emergency." He explained, brushing a his lips lightly on her hair. "I'm staying until we have something concrete on your dad's condition."

"Thank you." She said quietly, pulling away to look at him. He offered her a small smile and kissed her cheek, lingering for a moment. "I don't know what I'd do without you." She sighed, closing her eyes.

"Back at ya." He told her with a silly grin that made her chuckle and burrow her face into his neck with another sigh.

"Jim Beckett's family?"

The doctor's voice made Kate jump to her feet, making her cross the distance to the young man in scrubs and a white coat standing at the door before she was even aware of what she was doing.

"Yes, I'm his daughter. How is he?" She asked quickly, her heart galloping inside her chest.

"He suffered severe alcohol poisoning. We managed to stabilize him, but we'll have to watch him closely for the next twenty-four hours." He explained gravely and Kate swallowed, trying to dissolve the knot that had decided to take residence in her throat.

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked quietly, holding onto Rick's hand tightly.

"I believe so, yes. For now, we just need to give his body a chance to get rid of the alcohol on its own, so he's going to remain on a ventilator to help his breathing and we'll give him plenty of fluids. And hope that there is no lasting consequences." The doctor said and gave them a tired smile. "We're moving him to a room upstairs if you want to see him. If you have any questions, my name is Dr. Lucas and I'll be here until tomorrow morning."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Lucas." Kate shook his hand gratefully and he nodded.

"A nurse will come and get you guys soon." He told her and turned to leave. Kate sighed, relieved, and sagged against Rick's side.

"God." She choked out, tears finally escaping from her eyes. She brushed them away quickly so the kids wouldn't see her crying and felt Rick's arm wrapping around her body, pulling her to him.

"Hey, you heard the doctor. He's going to be okay." He whispered soothingly and she nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, I just... memories, you know? It's not the first time." She breathed, closing her eyes in order to pull herself together. When she felt she was somewhat in control of her emotions, she turned back to Alex and Olivia. "What do you guys say about hanging out with Uncle Javi and Aunt Lanie tonight?"

"Really? Can we, mom?" Olivia grinned, sounding more like her usual self. She loved Esposito's wife, Lanie. Kate was really good friends with her and they got together for lunch from time to time outside of work.

"I'll call them and see if they can come and get you guys for tonight." She brushed her hand through her daughter's hair and gave her a small smile. Alex looked down, his lower lip sticking out. "What's wrong, baby bear?"

"I want to stay with you and Rick." He protested, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, Alex, it's just for tonight, sweetie. I have to stay with Grandpa and Rick has to go to work. And I can't get ahold of your dad." She crouched down to his level and touched his cheek as he looked at her stubbornly. "We'll come and get you tomorrow morning." She promised, after looking at Rick for confirmation. He nodded.

"How about we go get something to eat, Alex?" Rick offered and Kate squeezed his arm in reassurance that it was okay. "Liv?" He questioned her daughter and Olivia nodded.

"Alright." Alex sighed, still disappointed. Rick leaned down and picked him up, settling him on his hip, before offering his hand to Olivia, who took it without a moment's hesitation.

"Do you want anything, mom?" She asked Kate, who smiled gratefully at her little girl.

"A cup of coffee would be great, honey." She leaned down and kissed Olivia's cheek. Standing up, she touched Rick's lips with hers for a brief moment. "I'll text you his room." She murmured, leaning her forehead on his jaw.

"I'll distract them for a little bit." He said, breathing her in. "Love you." He added in a whisper and Kate smiled.

"Love you too."

A/N: Thoughts?