"Come on! Seriously?!" Kate pushed the metal chair back so quickly it scraped against the floor, making a shrill sound. In all her years in interrogation, she'd never had a suspect sneeze directly in her face. She tried not to think about the fact that she'd been speaking; the idea of someone sneezing into her mouth was too much.
Castle glanced back to the mirror with a wide smile. He knew Ryan and Esposito had a habit of watching Kate in interrogation, he suspected it was to take notes at how well she worked the suspects. He was just about to crack a smile at Beckett when the suspect began coughing. Suddenly he was all too aware of how often the man had been sniffling.
"You're sick!" Castle pointed at the man, who smiled in response.
"Now we all are."
"Jokes on you; I don't get sick," Kate said quickly and sternly. "Now where were you on Tuesday?"
"I want a lawyer." With that, the interrogation was over.
Castle thought that was it. He had a laugh at Beckett's expense when he told Alexis and Martha about it at dinner but quickly forgot about it.
Until two days later.
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Javier suggested.
"That's not fair. You can lift her. It should be you," Kevin countered.
"Hey, guys," Castle called as he headed towards his seat.
"Castle!" The two men said in unison, both knowing they could easily sucker the writer into doing their dirty work.
"What are we rock paper scissoring for?"
"Maybe you can help," Javier started. "It's Beckett—"
"Beckett? What's wrong with Beckett?" He moved to her desk, observing it as if looking for clues.
"Her car was here when we got here but we haven't seen her; one of us has to go in the ladies room to check," Ryan explained.
"There aren't…" Castle glanced around for a woman but found none.
"If there were," Kevin started.
"And you'll keep watch to make sure no other woman goes in?"
"Promise," Esposito agreed.
Castle crept inside the women's room, eyes wide and on full alert. "Hello… Beckett?" He heard a soft groan but nothing else. He felt his guard go up as he opened one stall door after the other, searching for her. On the fifth door he finally found her. Her hair was in a messy ponytail. Her skin was pale white. She was crumpled into a little ball on the floor of the bathroom. "Kate, hey…" he nudged her slowly. She moved slightly with a pained grunt. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the fact that her outfit was soaked in sweat. He'd never seen Kate look so bad. He'd never seen anyone look so bad.
He scooped her into his arms and rushed out of the bathroom.
"She's really sick! I've got to get her to a—"
"There's no room at the hospitals. It's all over the news. The flu is so bad that they're telling people to just stay home and let it run its course," Ryan warned.
"I can call Lanie. I think she has a spare key for Beckett's—" Esposito started.
"I can't leave her at her apartment. She's not even conscious. Just have Lanie meet me at my place."
"You sure?" Esposito asked despite already knowing the answer. "Take care of her, man."
Castle nodded at the two men before carrying an unconscious Kate down the hall and into the elevator.
By the time they reached the car Kate started to come to. "I have to get back to work," she mumbled before passing out again. He carefully buckled her in before taking off but by the third turn she'd tumbled over, her head falling on Castle's shoulder.
"Lanie, thank you for coming," Castle said as he carried Kate through the door.
"How is she?"
Martha cleared a spot on the couch for Castle to lay Kate. "Castle," Kate whispered as he brushed the hair from her face. Still, she didn't wake.
Kate fought frantically when Lanie tried to put a thermometer under her tongue. "Kate! Kate, it's okay," Lanie tried.
Martha grabbed Kate's head and held it and the thermometer steady. Castle grabbed Kate's arms and tried to hold her down.
"104. She's got a hell of a fever," Lanie announced.
"Tell me what to do," Castle pleaded.
"Cold baths to try and lower her fever. When she's sick she likes wonton soup from Golden Dragon.
"Writing it down," Martha chimed in.
"She'll need aspirin every 4 hours to control the fever," Lanie continued.
"But she'll be okay?" Castle asked.
"She should be. But that doesn't mean she's out of the woods yet."
"Thanks, Lanie," Castle said softly as he glanced to where Kate still laid on the couch. In the four years he'd known her, he'd never seen her look so sick. He'd never seen her sick. But laying on the couch curled in the fetal position, she looked small and helpless.
"You sure you're alright?" Martha asked once Lanie had left.
"Yes, mother. Go on your date. I've got her."
"Well, if you…"
"I did take care of Alexis every time she got sick," he reminded her.
Martha put her hands up in mock surrender. "Take good care of her," she said softly before making an exit.
"Kate, hey… take these," Castle placed the pills in her mouth and brought the glass of water to her lips. She coughed and sputtered as she struggled to swallow the pills. "You're burning up," Castle said, placing a hand on her forehead. "Kate? Kate? I need you to focus! I'm going to give you a bath. I'm not… there's nothing… you're safe," he finally tried. "I just want to help you."
The cold bath seemed to bring her back to life. She flailed her arms and tried to escape the cold water. After, she shook violently. "C'mon, let's get you to bed," Castle whispered as he slid one of his shirts over her head.
By the time he got Kate into bed she was soaked with sweat once again. Her body trembled as she struggled to break the fever. Castle took a wet rag and placed it over her forehead; he stroked her hair and tried to calm her.
"Castle," she breathed as her eyes fluttered open. "You're here…"
"I'm here, Kate."
"You know, don't you?"
"Know what?" He drained the tub and covered her with a towel.
"You've always known, haven't you? You knew before I did…" her words started to slur as she started to fade.
"You're delirious," he tried. "Let's get you to bed…"
"You know… you know I'm in love with you," she whispered before passing out once again.