A/N: First off, let me apologize profusely for my awful updating. This chapter was incredibly difficult to start but it sparked some cool ideas so the next few should come quickly. Again, I am sorry. Happy reading!

It hurt all over. His muscles were crying out for him to relax but he wasn't even moving. He was just lying on a soft bed of grass, staring up at a dark and starless sky. A soft haze settled around him making his environment unclear. Overcome with a sense of confusion and urgency he tried to turn his head to survey his surroundings but shots of pain rippled through his body, forcing him to stop. He squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his jaw, and listened to his own shallow breathing. Then a soft, feminine voice came from nowhere. It began calling his last name. "Castle. Castle," it called. He recognized it immediately but could not match it with a name or a face. His eyes still closed, he felt a hand feather across his jaw and run through his hair. Pressure shot through his chest. He cried out in pain but then the pressure. The voice continued to call, but softer, more like a whisper in his ear. He felt hot breath against his ear and his eyes flew open. His brilliant blue eyes mingled with vibrant hazel ones, but the rest of the face was blurry. However, he knew the eyes. He didn't know whose they were but there was an overwhelming familiarity behind them. He watched in wonder as green swirled with brown and flecks of gold swam through them both. He loved those eyes. They slowly grew brighter and brighter; the next thing Rick knew was he was staring up at the white hospital ceiling.

Rick was groggy. And sore. And his head was pounding. Yet he still wanted to get up. With scarce remembrance of his situation, he slowly turned his head from side to side to gain a better vantage of the room. His daughter and mother were sitting in chairs adjacent to his bed, unaware that he was awake. Alexis sat with her nose in a thick book and Martha absent-mindedly flipped through the pages of a fashion magazine. Rick took notice of the changed in both women. Alexis looked older, much more defined, more like a woman, much to Rick's dismay. Her hair was longer, too. His mother, on the other hand, hadn't aged a bit. Her hair was as red as ever, her clothes as vibrant and gaudy, her wrinkles barely visible. Rick wondered if there had been some kind of Botox or plastic surgery he'd been tricked into paying for. Despite the numerous distractions in the room, Rick's thoughts ultimately revolved around Kate.

Kate sat alone in a chair on the opposite side of the room, she slumped in her seat, staring at the heart monitor attached to Rick, while swirling a necklace with an engagement ring between her fingers. Rick felt an eerie sense of deja vu at the sight of the ring. He didn't know exactly how but he knew the ring wasn't hers. Kate's eyes were rimmed red and he could tell she was fighting back tears, although it wasn't obvious. The realization hit him. It had been her hazel eyes and her voice that filled his subconscious. Rick grew lost in the thought that there was an overwhelming sense of familiarity yet he could not remember her name.

It was about five minutes later when Rick feigned an awakening. Kate took a sip of the coffee that had been sitting next to her and smirked into the mug, knowing he'd been awake and watching her. Rick gave her a quirked eyebrow after catching her smile but quickly turned his attention to the other women in the room.

"So are you all ready to fill me in now?" he slurred, still a little groggy.

"Yes, but let's wait for the doctor, Richard." But as Martha finished her sentence the doctor entered the room.

"Talk about timing," Kate whispered to herself and Rick, overhearing, smiled.

"Welcome back Mr. Castle. It's time to have a hard conversation. We are going to fill you in on a few of your memory gaps." Rick nodded as the doctor spoke. "Now do you want to hear them all at once, or one at a time, easing you into it."

"Let's go all at once," Rick replied, "like a Band-Aid."

Kate laughed. "Castle, last time you took off a Band-Aid it took us fifteen minutes because you had to soak it in water first."

"It was the cloth kind!"

The group's eyes widened, as Kate continued to laugh and Rick watched in awe.

"Richard, do you remember that?" Martha asked wearily.

"Ummmm...no. Not really. That was just the first thing that came into my head. I don't really remember the situation." He looked over at the doctor with worried eyes.

"Don't worry. It is completely normal. In fact, good even. It means you have a higher likelihood of regaining your memory, completely. Now let's get started, shall we?" Rick nodded. "First off, the year is 2011 not 2008." The doctor paused to watch Rick's reaction. Rick simply continued to nod, his facial expression unchanged. "You are 39 years old.

"Next, you are not married to Gina Cowell. The two of you divorced around three years ago." That time Rick's face fell.

"Oh," he muttered. "That's why she's not here."

"Yes, sorry for the inconvenience."

"No, it's not your fault. You didn't divorce her." Rick mumbled.

"Let's carry on. You are still a bestselling mystery author." Rick nodded his face still solemn.

"But, you killed of Derrick Storm and started a new series. Nikki Heat," Alexis chimed in. Rick's face perked up a little.

"Really? How's that doing?"

"Wonderfully. It's based off of Detective Beckett, in fact," Martha interrupted quickly. Rick gave Kate a look of astonishment. She smiled at the ground, nodding, with a growing blush appearing on her checks.

"How did we meet?" Rick directed at Kate, and then it hit him. "Oh Gosh! We're dating aren't we? And I don't remember you. I don't know what to say." Kate couldn't contain it. She looked at his genuine concern but still could not fight the laughter bubbling inside her. Martha and Alexis joined in. Rick looked at the three of them with bewilderment. "What's so funny?"

"Calm down Castle. We are not dating. We are just friends. We met because there was a serial killer killing people the way you do in your books and you helped with the case. After you left, we stayed in touch," Kate explained. Martha and Alexis noticed how she left out a few details.

"I was helpful?"

"For that one case yes," Kate answered hesitantly

"And I didn't help with anymore cases?" Castle's eyes widened, bewildered that he did not insist on helping anymore.

"Umm... once or twice, but really just some harebrained theories that were way off. If we'd have lunch, you'd usually ask about my case and I'd fill you in and you gave me the theories, but not much beyond that," Kate lied and swallowed hard. Her throat felt tight as she forced the dry words out. She knew the plan rested on her story.

"That sounds fun."

"You have no idea." Kate grew silent and withdrawn as the doctor filled Rick in on the rest of his memory gaps. Martha and Alexis listened intently to the doctor as he told Rick the major things he'd forgotten. In the back of both of their minds was a little voice telling them Rick wouldn't agree. They did their best to ignore the voice, overpowering it, saying lying is the best for him.