A/N: Okay, this lovely Author's Note is specifically to Bella Paige, although it could pertain to everyone. If you have read a chapter and you think of a song that goes with it, send it to me in your review! Bella Paige almost always does this, and now I have a nice little Caskett playlist going on my iTunes. So, if you want to add to it, let me know! Okay, and thanks for all the reviews, guys, you're wonderful!

Disclaimer: Nahhh, I wish.

Chapter Twelve: Reunited

Richard Castle woke up the next morning to a nurse checking his heart rate and Kate Beckett asleep a few feet away. She twitched in her sleep and her lips parted slightly, and Castle found himself smiling at her sleeping form. He settled back into his pillows and watched her breathe in and out rhythmically. A few minutes of silence passed before her eyelids fluttered open. She yawned and groaned, cracking her neck, and caught Castle watching her.

"Are you watching me sleep, you creep?" she asked playfully, but the playfulness sounded forced. If anything, she looked exhausted, and her eyes were red-rimmed.

"If I had seen anything more beautiful, I would watch that," he replied, trying to make her poke fun at him. When she didn't, he tilted his head sideways in concern. "Are you okay?" he asked. Kate, staring off into space, didn't answer.

"Dad!" Alexis flounced into the room, dressed to the nines in her school uniform, her grandmother by her side. "How do you feel?"

"Sore," her father replied truthfully. "But all in all, better than dead." Kate blanched, but he wasn't looking. "Off to school?"

Alexis looked out the door, left and right, and smiled. "I brought you both a bear claw, from your favorite place on 5th," she pulled the white bag out of her backpack, and passed them discreetly to her father. "I figured the food is so gross here, so you might as well have someone willing to sneak food in for you."

Castle passed a bear claw to Kate, who held it in her hands delicately without taking a bite. Alexis excused herself to go to school and Martha followed, saying something about going shopping on Castle's tab. He shrugged and let her go, licking his fingers clean of bear claw. He turned back to Kate, who was still holding it in her hand, staring into space.

He snapped his fingers at her. "Hey, zombie, come here," he said kindly, motioning for her to wheel closer. She rolled toward him, and he grabbed both of her hands. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Don't try telling me nothing's wrong."

"I had a nightmare last night," she mumbled. "The guy who stabbed you came here and broke my other leg, and then disappeared. And then I found you, stabbed and dead right across the hall from me," her voice shook and she removed her hands from his to wipe her eyes. "Lanie moved me here last night after I woke up."

"Well, it's bound to happen, right?" Castle tried to reassure her. "Nightmares? I mean, it was traumatic."

"You didn't have nightmares," she pointed out.

"I was drugged," he replied. "Wait, I think I know what this is about..."

"Probably about you being stabbed and flat lining right in front of me, but by all means, make up a story, since you do that so well," Kate snapped, leaning back in her wheelchair.

"I'm not making this up, Kate. You feel weak. You have a fairly minor injury, though I'm not undermining the pain, and now you're having nightmares. And when you saw me sleeping soundly, you felt weak. You felt like you were the one that was cracking under the strain, and it pains you to be the one who needs someone. You don't like to need people, and I get that. But you're going to need people in your life sometime. And I would like to be one of them."

Kate rolled backward and tried to maneuver her way out the door. "I'm going back to my room."

"Kate! Get back here!" Castle pressed the 'call nurse' button on the side of his bed. "Nurse! I have a runaway!"

"Castle, stop bothering people!" Kate called back on her way across the hall. "Don't bother," she told the nurse speed-walking to his room. "He's being an idiot again."

KBRCSKNFKBRCSKNF

"Esposito, have we gotten anything on our suspect yet?" the captain asked Esposito, who held up a finger as he finished his call. He slammed the receiver on the cradle and buried his head in his hands.

"Nothing, sir. We're working on it...or rather, I'm working on it."

"What do you have so far?" he asked. "Any leads on this mystery man?"

"Well, I've been looking into Wilk's life since he was divorced, but I haven't dug much up. Apparently he quit his job, secluded himself in his house, and when he emerged next, he was killing guys who looked like the one banging his wife," he rubbed is eyes with the heels of his hands.

"You'll find something," the captain said, clapping him on the back.

"I won't let him get away with this, sir," Esposito said. "Mark my words."

"When does Ryan get back?" Montgomery asked, leaning against his desk.

"Now!" came the all too familiar voice of Kevin Ryan. "So apparently, I've missed a lot." He was sporting his usual light blue shirt and black jacket over jeans, looking supremely happy for someone who must have cut their honeymoon short just to come back to work.

Esposito jumped up and hugged his partner. "Damn right you have! Why did you come back early?"

"Have you seen the paper? Castle's stabbing is on the front page." He held up a copy of the paper and slammed it down on the desk. "Now when were you guys going to tell me?" he asked angrily. "I would have been back here in a heartbeat. No one messes with us, okay?"

"Dude, it's your honeymoon," Esposito reasoned.

Ryan shrugged. "Jenny understood. In fact, when she showed me the paper, she practically packed my bag. She understands the family we have here, and she wanted me to be able to help protect it. So tell me what you've got," He threw himself into his chair, rolling past his desk. He smiled sheepishly and shuffled back.

"Okay, well this guy, Wilks, was a serial, right? Well, he only goes after guys who look like the one his wife cheated on him with. Makes sense so far?"

Ryan nodded.

"Well Sorenson showed up, asking for Beckett's help on the case. She agreed to help him and somehow she, Castle, and Sorenson all ended up at this abandoned warehouse, where they were all hostages. Sorenson and Castle both fit the MO. They tried to make Beckett leave. When she called for backup, they hauled her out of her car to make her watch Castle die."

"Those bastards," Ryan growled.

"Luckily, she got a call off to me first, and we were there pretty fast and took Wilks down."

"What about Sorenson?"

Esposito blinked and shook his head. "He went down like the other victims of Wilks. Castle would have too, if we hadn't gotten there in time."

"And Beckett?"

"Broken ankle, shattered pride," Esposito smiled. "She'll be fine. But right now she's keeping vigil at Castle's bedside," he made kissy sounds and Ryan immediately perked up.

"What did I miss?"

"So much, bro. So much," Esposito clapped him on the back as his phone rang. "Give me a second and I'll fill you in on that, too."

KBRCSKNFKBRCSKNF

"Kate! KAAAATTTEEEE!"

"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle won't stop yelling your name," Melanie, the nurse who was redressing the scrape on Kate's arm, felt the need to inform her. "The other nurses are considering taking him off pain medication until he stops talking."

"I wish I could make him stop talking," Beckett muttered. "I'll go talk to him. Tell the nurses to stand down, for at least five minutes." She smiled at Melanie, who thanked her.

"Your arm looks pretty healthy, Detective. Your ankle, on the other hand, will take a few weeks to heal. It's only fractured, but a few weeks off of it is at least what you need. Don't overexert yourself, okay?"

"Well, you just told me to go talk to Castle, Melanie! You're contradicting yourself," Beckett smiled. "But thank you. I'll do that."

Melanie laughed and wheeled Beckett across the hall, leaving her alone in Castle's room. He sat up straight when he saw her, and eased himself back down, his hand on his side. Beckett watched him, her head tilted to the side, a small smile on her face. "You're going to pop a stitch," she informed him, staying in the doorway.

"I'm glad you came back," was his response.

"Yeah well, the nurses were talking about withholding meds from you until you shut up so I figured I should come help your well-being."

"You just wanted to see me," Castle chided. "Admit it."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Not."

"Too."

"Not."

"Beckett, I have a teenage daughter and my mother in the same house, you will not win this one," Castle said.

"Yeah well, I'm not exactly in the best mood, so I don't think I would let you win," she retorted. "The guy who stabbed you is still out there, and I can't do anything about it."

"Well, Esposito will find something, I have no doubt," he answered reassuringly. "Besides, you caught Wilks, Will has to be happy about that, right?"

Beckett looked down at her lap. "Well, I wouldn't know..." she was surprised to feel her eyes sting and watched her eyesight blur.

"What do you mean you wouldn't know...?" Castle asked, sounding alarmed. "Kate, look at me, what happened?"

"Will is dead."

Castle stumbled. "What? Dead? Wilks killed him?"

"Right after they pulled you into the parking lot. Esposito found his body," Beckett nodded, keeping her eyes downcast. She discreetly whipped her eyes with the back of her hand. She heard the sheets rustle and looked up to see Castle trying his hardest to untangle himself from the wires to get closer to her.

"Castle, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm trying..." he grunted, holding his side, "to give you a hug."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you're upset, but you're all the way over there, and I'm...well, all the way over here."

Kate squinted at him. "You couldn't just ask me to come closer?"

Castle looked relieved. "Would you?"

Kate smiled and pushed the lock on her wheelchair and stood up, hovering her foot about two inches off the ground. She hobbled all the way to Castle's good side and sat on the edge of the bed. He held up his arm and she lowered herself into his arm, so they were lying together on the small uncomfortable bed. She laid her head gingerly on his chest and he kissed the top of her head.

"You know, you're the strongest person I know," he whispered into her hair. She glanced up into his soft blue eyes and kissed the smile on his face.

"I love you."

KBRCSKNFKBRCSKNF

"She dumped Josh? In front of everyone? She made out with Castle at MY wedding? How...how...why...why did I miss this?" Ryan leaned back on his chair and locked his arms behind his head.

"You were with Jenny, bro, it's understandable," Esposito said, pushing Ryan's chair back.

"Dude, I can't believe I missed it. Wait," he slammed his booted feet down on the floor. "The letter?"

"She let him read it."

Ryan pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!"

"Unfortunately, we still don't know what it says," Esposito said.

"What?"

"Yeah, it was right after he got out of surgery," he paused. "But...she's only there for a few more days. We could go with Lanie to take her clothes and stuff. And then you can question her there. Surprise her, you know?"

Ryan smiled. "Call Lanie."

A/N: Sorry this took me longer than usual. My writing fuel just kind of fizzled out.