Entry for #CastleFanficMonday

He didn't know her name, he didn't know her story but he wasn't about to leave her on the side of the road in the rain.

The pounding of the rain on the windscreen was doing nothing to improve his mood, four hours of sitting in meetings discussing how they were going to promote 'Death of a Prom Queen', well how his publisher would promote it and how he would stand there, look pretty and sign a few hundred books. All he wanted to do was get home and see Alexis, she always managed to put a smile on his face, then he remember Martha had booked them on a night away at a drama retreat and the pair wouldn't be home until late tomorrow evening. So it looked like it was dinner for one and an early night. Luckily the traffic was light going downtown but the pounding rain made it hard to drive at the speed limit without fear of not being able to see where you were going. The drive seemed to take much longer than usual, even playing with the radio did nothing to boosts his mood, eventually he gave up and turned it off, letting the sound of the rain be his only company.

He knew he was tired and it might just be his eyes deceiving him, but he was sure that there was a body lying on the sidewalk. At first he thought it was a homeless person but as the car drew closer he began to notice it was a woman, who looked in pain, her clothes were nice but in disarray. He stopped the car close by and got out to check. He was right, there lying in front of him shivering was a young woman, no older than 20 years old. Although her clothes were good makes they were ruined, her blouse was ripped on the sleeve and covered in dirt from the sidewalk. Her jeans were wet from the rain and ripped across the thighs as if she had skidded along the road. Castle quickly took off his coat and covered her up, she mumbled something but he couldn't work it out, her eyes were closed and her hair was strewn across her face. He scooped her up into his arms, noticing how pale she looked, she protested at the movement and yelped in pain as she was forced to arch in on her ribs in order for him to carry her. Castle was quick getting her into the car, trying to be as quick as possible to avoid the rain. He laid her down on the back seat and fastened both seat belts making sure she was secure before getting back into the driver's seat.

He knew he should take her to a hospital, but she needed help now, the nearest hospital was at least thirty minutes away and his apartment was only a few blocks away. He made a snap decision there and then, he would take care of her at the loft, at least until the rain died down a bit.

The drive back was a delicate balance between driving too slow and too fast. He was worried she might need urgent help, but then every time he picked up the speed the rain lashed down harder making it harder to see, and with every mile they covered he could hear the woman in the back whimpering in pain. Every few minutes he would glance back to check on her, she hadn't moved but each time she looked more like she was slipping into unconsciousness, taking the risk he added slightly more pressure on the gas pedal until they were outside his apartment block.

As fortune would have it the rain had eased off slightly by the time they made it back, so he managed to get the woman out of the car and into the lobby without them both getting soaked. The doorman gave him a funny look as to why he was carrying a woman in his arms, but he simply shrugged him off with a flippant explanation and handed over his car keys so he could go and park his car, before rushing towards the elevator and heading straight for the loft.

It was a bit of a struggle trying to balance holding a woman in pain and trying to fit the key into the front door, but after a bit of maneuvering he finally managed to push the door open. Once inside he kicked the door closed behind him and headed straight for the bedroom. As gently as he could he placed the woman down on the bed and took a step back to take in the image of her.

He could tell she was badly hurt and would need professional help, but with the weather still persisting to close roads he knew a doctor or even an ambulance would take a while. He watched as the woman continued to shake, before trying to move onto her side only to find that too painful and retreat back again. He moved to go to her but then realized he didn't know what he was doing. He saw a card poking out of her back pocket, very gently he took the card, scanning his eyes of the NYU logo and the writing in the middle:

"Kate Beckett. Member of Russian Literacy Society. NYU"

So she was called Kate Beckett and she was attending NYU and must enjoy Russian literacy, he gathered, well at least he knew what to call her now. For some reason he couldn't take his eyes off her, something about her was drawing him towards her, a connection he had never felt before.

He managed to lie her down on top of the sheets, brushing her brown matted locks away from her pale face. She looked as if she was just on the verge of consciousness, as if her mind was trying to stay alert but her body was forcing her to rest. Her body still shook slightly and he could hear her muttering something but he couldn't work out what. He went to the wardrobe and pulled out a blanket, draping it over her chilled body before sitting himself down in the chair at the side of the bed. He wracked his brain thinking of what to do in this situation, she clearly needed a hot shower and some fresh clothes, and some hot food and drinks, but right now he didn't have the heart to wake her. She was lay mostly on her back, her slim fingers curled around the corners of the blanket he had provided. He couldn't help but wonder how she had ended up there, miles away from the university, soaked to the bone and practically unconscious, he wanted to know her story but he wanted her to be safe even more.

With that he decided he couldn't just sit there, he couldn't leave her in soaking wet clothes and let her catch a cold. He went to the bathroom, grabbing three fresh towels before moving to his dresser and pulling out one of his t-shirts and jogging bottoms. He stood at the side of the bed thinking about the best way to do this without scaring her, he leaned in closer to her and gently moved some of the damp hair that clung to her face.

"Kate. My name is Richard Castle, I'm going to help you, you're in a bit of a mess and I need to get these wet clothes off you." He whispered, and she hummed in response, a throaty noise that he didn't understand if it meant she was OK with that or she wasn't. "Just lie still, I think you've hurt your side, so just let me do all the work OK?" he didn't get a response but decided to carry on.

He started with her boots and socks, then moved to remove her jeans, which clung to her legs because of the damp fabric. He tried to go as slowly as possible as to not jolt her fragile body, pooling the jeans at her ankles he delicately pulled them off her cold feet. Grabbing one of the towels he gently dried her legs, scanning his eyes over them to check for any cuts but luckily it seemed the jeans had protected her somewhat. He gather up the jogging bottoms and slipped them onto her, pulling them up her legs and over her hips. She didn't make a sound. Then Castle went to sit at the head of the bed and lifted Kate's limp body into a sitting position, supporting her with his chest he held the end of her t-shirt and lifted it up her back and down her arms, trying not to stretch her arms too much. It obviously didn't work as Kate seemed to protest slightly as her arms were pulled above her head and she whimper at the stretch in her arms. Once again he dried her off with another towel and helped her into his shirt, it was trickier than the pants and his heart broke when he heard her whimper in pain but at least now she was in some dry clothes. With the other towel he dabbed Kate's hair trying to get rid of some of the excess water, before wiping her face slightly and lying her back down onto the bed.

She appeared as peaceful as she could be in her state, her eyes still closed as she breathed softly. Moving her hair once again he noticed a small abrasion just above her eyebrow that was sure to bruise in the morning. Taking one end of the towels he dabbed the mark as gently as he could but he felt her wince in pain and mumble something but she still wasn't all together coherent.

He wondered what the hell he thought he was doing, she needed a doctor, a medical professional that knew exactly what they were doing, and not someone who had just picked her up off the street. To her he was a stranger, someone who had taken her to his apartment, undressed her and sat staring at her. At the time it hadn't seemed such a bad idea, but he wasn't sure she would see it that way.

He knew he needed to wake her, he needed to explain himself before he scared her. Settling himself on the side of the bed he took one of her cold hands in his, gently running his thumb across the back of her hand as if to draw her into consciousness.

"Kate can you hear me?" he whispered, feeling guilty for disturbing her slumber, "I need you to open your eyes for me" he continued, squeezing her hand slightly.

Kate moved slightly but still wasn't fully conscious, her head lulled to the side and she mumbled something that Castle couldn't understand. He tried again, repeating her name and pleading with her to open her eyes.

After a few more minutes he watched as she began to mumble something again, something he still couldn't comprehend completely but he took it as a sign that she was awake. He saw her eyes begin to twitch before fluttering open. He couldn't help the smile that beamed from his face once he knew she was awake, but that soon faded as he looked into her eyes. Large brown swirls stared back at his, her eyes wide and beginning to fill with tears as she finally woke up fully. Her terrified eyes burning into his piercing blue eyes.

Part 1 of 3 the rest will be posted later this week.

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