Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Last chapter had more reviews then any of the previous ones. Thank you! I love hearing from you all. As you know my twins are off to college this Sunday. This is a big thing for me. I keep getting misty eyed and emotional. I'm not sure if there will be a chapter this coming week. Just fair warning just in case I'm a wreck. Thank you for reading, writing this has helped me so much! This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon.
Shaw slammed the ambulance doors closed. In less than 25 minutes Beckett would be at the Stony Brook University Trauma Center, Castle's chopper would be there before her ambulance made it to the end of the driveway! She hoped everyone would pull through. Years ago she had pegged Castle and Beckett as being together, her instincts weren't usually wrong, that time they were just premature.
The minute the ambulance door had slammed shut Beckett's heart thundered loudly in her chest, her eyes glassed over in a primal fear that sent waves of nausea through her body. Raw panic clawed its way through her chest, her lungs struggled to take in her next breath. Her hands trembled and she knew she couldn't stop it, not this bad. Then her vision darkened, tunneled, and finally went black.
It was so damn realistic. She was back there, the day when the cloudless blue sky betrayed the somber mood that surrounded them and a sea of NYPD dress blue uniforms stood mournful before her. A gunshot sliced through the silent crowd, as her words immediately caught in her throat. Controlled pandemonium reigned. People yelled, sirens blared but it was the blue of his eyes and the tone of his voice that echoed through her head and nestled in her chest along with the sniper's bullet.
"Kate. Shh. Kate, please. Stay with me, Kate. Don't leave me, please? Stay with me, okay? Kate, I love you. I love you, Kate." Pain, blood, white lights, sirens, the squeaky sound of the gurney wheels as they skidded down the corridor flooded back and threatened to drown her.
Thee stinging burn in her arm barely registered and then the blissfulness of nothing. As the fogginess began to dissipate, her senses recognized the familiar sounds, smells, and finally sight of the hospital. The beeping of the monitors, the sterile odor of disinfectant and the stark bright lights that filtered even through closed eyelids. Disoriented at first she couldn't remember why she was here, then the rush of memories from the last 24 hours bombarded her. Her eyes popped open and she jerked fully awake, her body thrashed about in a state of terror as she tried to get up.
"Where's Castle? Where is he? Is he alive?" She screamed.
"Just relax Katie." She recognized the sound of her father's voice as it finally permiated her consciousness, but it didn't answer her question. Kate's eyes wandered around the room wildly, she felt her father's hand gently guide her back down onto the bed. "Castle's still in surgery they took him in as soon as he got here. He was in pretty bad shape, but if anyone can pull through it's that one. He'd claw his way through hell to get to you, Kate. Now lay back, and rest until we get news."
Just as her father finished talking an older looking doctor walked in. "Hello, I'm Doctor Stepman, your surgeon. You've had a rough time of it, Detective. You were lucky the bullet that pierced your leg went through and through, without hitting any arteries. The other bullet grazed your side without any damage to any organs. Neither bullet mushroomed or expanded, so the damage was a lot less than I'd have expected. You suffered an acute panic or stress reaction in the ambulance and had to be sedated. We'll keep you for at least the next 24-36 hours for observations and to regulate the pain meds. A nurse will be in soon with pain medication. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. They all knew Beckett wouldn't be setting foot out of that hospital until Castle did.
"Thank you, Doctor." Beckett replied weakly as he stepped back out into the corridor. The nurse entered and moved to her IV. "This will help with the pain, and will make you sleepy."
"What is this? I don't need anything." Kate argued with the nurse. " I need to be clear minded. I need to be awake when Castle gets here."
"Detective Beckett, you can't heal properly without proper rest. How can you help anyone if you yourself need help." The nurse attempted to insert the medication directly into the IV.
"I need you to get the doctor back in here! I can handle the pain. I don't want the pain meds, right now." The nurse looked at Mr Beckett for help. He just shrugged his shoulders, and she rolled her eyes and left the room.
Within a few minutes the doctor returned. "What seems to be the problem, Ms. Beckett?"
"It's Detective Beckett, and I want to be alert. It's imperative that I be able to stay alert. I don't want to spend most of my time in a drug induced sleep. The pain is tolerable and I don't need or want any narcotic medication."
"I suggest that you take it to relax your body and help it heal itself faster. We can't force it on you. I can prescribe a non-narcotic pain reliever. It will make you more comfortable but won't dull your sense. If the pain gets too be to much call the nurse and she will give you a dose of the narcotic."
"I would appreciate that, thank you."
"I'll write the order for you now. But if the pain gets to be too much call the nurse and she will give you a dose of something stronger."
"Thanks again."
"No problem, I hope your stay here is short." The doctored walked over to the nurse and after a short conversation about the medication continued his rounds.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Shaw moved to the foot of the bed to get her attention. The pained look on Beckett's face was obvious and she was glad to see the nurse return with the medication.
"The doctor prescribed this non narcotic pain relief. It will keep you alert, but it won't keep you awake if you are tired. The stronger narcotic is still an option if you want it."
Shaw waited for the nurse to leave before talking. "Kate, Hunt's also in surgery. His prognosis wasn't good when we were last updated. He was shot four times and lost a lot of blood. According to the medics he coded in the chopper but they were able to re-establish his heart beat and respiration. I have a man outside of both ER's and there will be one outside all your rooms as well as a security checkpoint to get into this ward. Martha and Alexis are being escorted here as we speak, they should be here soon."
She tried to focus on Shaw's words, but the pain in her side and thigh was bad. All she wanted to know was Castle's condition, "Jordan, I need to know what Castle's condition is, that's it. Now you tell me or I'll get up and go find out."
"Castle has an infection in his jaw where they ripped out the tooth. His nose is broken. He has a number of broken ribs one of which punctured his lung. He has a broken collar bone and cracked sternum. There may be some organ damage and they know there is evidence of deep brusing and internal bleeding. He's in surgery now. They said they were going to open up his abdominal cavity and perform exploratory surgery to be sure they have correctly assessed the damage. He also had a bad concussion and will probably be put in a cold coma to minimize swelling. Brain swelling is his second biggest problem based on what they told me. He may not be concious for several days until they are confident he isn't going to be killed by a delayed reaction to the concussion and brain bruising. He didn't regain conciousness. They said they were going to shave part of his head and do a tap to monitor cranial pressure. That's all I know."
"Oh my God. I was too late, I was too damned slow." Tears start to well in her eyes.
"Kate, you accomplished what I regard as a miracle rescue. You and Hunt were outnumbered 3 or 4 to one, out gunned, and you got him and you out of there alive. That was a one in a million shot and you did it. However this turns out, you hold your head up high. That was an awesome effort."
Kate tried to argue but her strength was fading and she just needed to sleep. She let the sleep come.
Hours later she startled awake, "Castle?" She mumbled. Her dad nodded no. "Dad, what if it's not over? "
"Kate we have security, your friends have been here. You are both safe."
"We need to be here for him. He will need us...please. I need him." She mumbled as she closed her eyes and tried to focus on the good times. For the first time she understood the pain her father had experienced when her mother died.
Shaw and Martha pulled every string they'd could. When Kate Beckett opened her eyes the second time there was an empty bed next to her, equipped with monitors and an IV pole. Her Dad smiled at her as she questioned him with her eyes.
"Welcome back, Katie Bug. How are you feeling?"
"Dad? Is that for Castle?" She asked as she reached for his hand.
"Yes, Kate it is. Remind me never to go up against your friend Agent Shaw and Martha Rogers. Those two together are a lethal weapon on unsuspecting people." He shook his head in a moment of apparent disbelief and admiration. "Castle is in recovery, and as soon as it is deemed safe he will be transferred here. Under regular circumstances he would go to ICU, but you will have your own ICU nurse and your doctors have agreed to see you both here. Shaw has this area completely secured for both of your safety. He's still listed in critical condition, but he has made it through the surgery. You haven't answered me though. How are you?"
"I've been shot. Twice. It hurts, but this is nothing compared to the last time. I signed up for this Dad. Castle didn't. This is going to be hell for him and his family."
"Kate, you two have built an incredible family. You have Alexis, Martha, myself and that crazy but dedicated crew at the 12 th. I've never seen coworkers so invested in each other. Castle will struggle, this is psychological as well as physical, but he has a support system like no other."
"What if he pushes us away? What if he decides he wants to do this alone?" This so an eye opener for her into what he went through when she was shot.
"Are we talking about, Castle, Katie? From everything you've told me and I've seen, Castle thrives on human interaction. Especially yours, that man has loved you for so long. He will want you with him. I'm certain of it. He's every bit as tough as you are, Katie. If he was going to leave because of stress, he'd be long gone. He will need support from you and others, probably a psychologist, to work through this, but I've no doubt he will."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With Beckett and Castle in good hands, Esposito, responded to Ryan's earlier phone call, and returned to the crime scene at the abandoned mental hospital. Espo and Ryan were in the room next to where Castle had been kept. There were a handful of sub-machine guns, with plenty of ammunition, handguns, knives, and a few vests. In the other room there were duffles stuffed with clothes, tools, notebooks, and a laptop that were all sent to Quantico to be analyzed.
"This is where you were when you called me?"
"Yup. This is only part of it, but this is where I was when I made the call. The pictures I sent were that pile of weapons over there. I bet they charged the laptop in the Jeep, since there was no electricity. They used battery operated lamps at night."
"Something's not right here." Espo mumbled under his breath. "I can't quite put my finger on it."
"What?" Ryan returned.
"Look bro, these guys had enough fire power to light up this town. Between what's here and what they had on them they should have been able to fight off Beckett and Hunt. They had them outnumbered and out gunned. That tells me they were well equipped, but they weren't professionals. Pro's wouldn't have been taken out so easily. There were five of them against Hunt and Beckett. Granted they are good, but with all this firepower. These guys were trained, but just barely. They were blindly following orders."
"So, you don't think this was about Hunt?"
"Could be, I dunno, but if I'm right then there's still someone else out there. Someone who pulled their strings. There was a higher objective. This was just some sort of operation. Their real mission wasn't completed." Espo and Ryan look at each other. "If this isn't over castle and Beckett's friends and families are in danger, and that would include us, Jenny, Lanie, Gates, and maybe her family. We're all in danger."
Just then Shaw came around the corner and walked into the room. She had heard some of their conversation. "Finger prints were sent digitally to the National Counter Terrorist Center."
Shaw pointed down the hall. "We also found a long range radio in one of the other rooms. They were definitely communicating with someone out there, and we have to find out who. Until we do, I completely agree: Castle, Beckett, Hunt and our families are not safe. I'll get Federal Marshal's assigned to protection details right away." She poked her phone as she walked out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The room was dark except for the lamp on corner of the mahogany desk. Dark shadows stretched across the room, and partially covered the man who stood motionless behind his desk. His face hidden in the shadows as smoke from his cigar curled into the light. He waited in silence for news.
The door opened and in walked a large muscular man, cell phone to his ear. The scar across his cheek deformed the left side of his face, and the cut throat tattoo across his neck made him menacing. He barked the orders into the phone, "Take care of it, and do it now!" Then he shook his head in disgust and looked over at his boss.
"Detective Beckett, Castle and Hunt are at the Stony Brooke University Hospital. She was listed in stable condition, Hunt and Castle are listed in critical condition. None of our men survived."
"They failed, Walker!" The man growled as his fat beefy fist slammed the desk top. Hot ashes dropped from the end of his cigar and onto his hand. The man didn't even flinch. "Our men are dead. Hunt's still alive and so are the writer and his detective. I want them gone! Do you hear me? Dead and dismembered is fine with me. I don't care how you do it!"
Walker smiled at the man behind the desk, the scar made it look evil and lopsided. Definitely not someone you'd want to meet in a dark alley. He didn't mind if he got his hands dirty at all, he actually enjoyed playing with his food, and was looking forward to it.
The other man walked into the light, just inches away from Walker's face. His dark eye are cold and menacing, his bald head grossly misshapen because of some kind of accident. His English was flawless, but the accent betrayed him. "Don't fail. I lost my best operative because of these three. We don't know how much they know, and Hunt has been a thorn in my side long enough."
Walker drew his gun out of it's holster. "You shouldn't have sent inexperienced fools do the job of an expert. This is all I need, and some ammo." Then he turned and walked out the door. The other man stood and watched.
Don't forget this will continue with weekly updates with longer chapters (hopefully).(except possibly the week of Sept. 1) I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers because without them, my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!