This is a sort-of sequel to Fair's Fair, the ficlet I wrote for CastleFanficMonday in December, but it takes place during 4x01 - Rise.

Clear the Air

Of all the places he'd expected to see her again, this is not it. He had expected it to be an accidental meeting on the street, in line at a coffee shop, maybe even a run-in at the airport. But not this; not this by a long shot.

Not bleeding out on his operating table.

"Damn it, Kate. What the hell happened to you?" he mutters, as if her eyes will pop open, stark green against her pale cheeks, and tell him everything.

She doesn't, but he knows what happened already.

Shot.

They'd said she'd been shot at a funeral.

His ex had been shot at a funeral and her life depends on him stopping the bleeding.

"Come on, Kate. Come on," he breathes, feeling her blood spill over his knuckles, hot through the latex covering his hands.

She's not dying on his watch, ex or not.

He doesn't get to follow-through with the promise. Moments later, he's forced out of the room, his hands tied by AMA policy. Uselessness settles on his shoulders as he watches a fellow surgeon scramble to get Kate's heart beating in a normal rhythm once more.

His steps stutter to a stop as he pushes into main the hallway. There's a crowd, a small army of cops and even more people in funeral clothes, but he zeroes in on Richard Castle's slumped form.

"Shot at a funeral?" he roars, unable to stop himself, unable to keep his helplessness from becoming fury and overwhelming sense.

Castle looks up, eyes wild and troubled. Desolation weighs his shoulders down, makes his movements sluggish, but he strides forward.

"Josh? I tried to get to her," Castle explains, voice hoarse. Whether it's from tears or from shouting remains to be seen. "I tried –"

Josh's hands connect with the other man's chest, shoving him back toward the wall even as others shout and try to separate them.

"Hey!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"That's what her life is like?" he spits, ignoring everyone but Castle. "Getting shot at funerals? I thought you were her magnificent partner, what the hell do you even do fo –"

"Enough!" An older man – Kate's father, he assumes – bellows, touching Castle's shoulder before turning to glare at the doctor. "My daughter is fighting for her life, and you want to play some kind of blame game?"

As quickly as his temper had crested, the anger recedes, leaving him feeling shamed under the man's reproachful gaze.

"Now, I take it the two of you know each other."

Castle nods first, scrubbing a trembling hand through his hair. "Jim Beckett, this is Josh Davidson. Doctor Josh Davidson. He and Kate used to – you were in there with her?"

"Yeah," he says, choked by the reminder of Kate on the table. "Yeah I was. I was the on-call doctor. But another doctor had to take over. It's policy; I couldn't continue to work on her."

Jim nods. "Thank you for what you could do. What can you tell us?"

He hesitates, but gives the group a summary of her condition. It doesn't relax them, though. If anything, it seems to make things worse. Jim's face pales, and Castle looks like he might pass out right there. The redheads that had flanked him earlier guide him to sit in one of the chairs behind them, glaring at Josh the entire time.

Finally, Castle looks up. He's been scrubbing his thumb against his palm for nearly five minutes, and the motion continues, even as he speaks.

"What else can we do?"

Josh shakes his head. "Just wait. That's all you can do. Kovak is a good surgeon, though. She's in good hands."

It isn't much, but that seems to help a little.

He stays for two hours, waiting with his ex's father, her new boyfriend – he assumes, at least – and his family. They don't speak, save for occasionally announcing a break for water or coffee, and they all jump when the beeper on his hip buzzes to life.

"I, ah, I have to go," he murmurs, looking first at Kate's father, then Castle. "Another surgery."

They all slump, disappointed by the fact that it isn't news about Kate. Both men nod, the elder thanking him once more for his help.

"I'll check in when I can, if that's all right?"

They nod again. Castle licks his lips, rubbing his hands against his thighs. "Hopefully there will be something to tell soon."

Josh nods, casting a final glance at the people huddled in the chairs behind him.

Hours pass before he's able to even ask about Kate. He learns that she's out of surgery and in the ICU, and that since visitors were allowed, the writer has only left Kate's side to give her father the chance to sit with her.

Castle has, apparently, also made it clear that he's not leaving any time soon.

Sure enough, when Josh makes his way to the ICU, he finds Castle perched on the side of Kate Beckett's bed, cradling one of her hands between both of his.

It's voyeuristic, but he doesn't give his presence away just yet. It's been months since he'd first observed them; he has to know if they've changed, if Kate had given his parting advice any thought. He won't know for sure until Kate wakes up, of course, but he's seen enough from Castle to know Kate's feelings aren't unrequited.

The writer is gentle, quiet, fussing over Kate as she breathes with the help of the machines. No, there's no doubt about it. Rick Castle is in love with her, too.

"I called Ryan just before your dad left. They're still at the precinct, running down every lead they can. He says they'll be here to see you as soon as they can, but they want to get this guy and he's already in the wind. Lanie'll be back in the morning, too."

Castle's fingers come up, smoothing across Kate's brow. "The nurse gave me your things. Not your uniform – that's in evidence now – but I have everything else. Wallet, phone, your mom's ring. So don't worry about any of that – everything's safe. I'll hang onto it until you're feeling better."

Josh watches Castle lift Kate's fingers to his lips. It's a practiced gesture, made even more tender because there's no response from her.

"And when you get moved to your regular room, I'll bring the flowers Lanie said are already collecting on your desk. Plus a few dozen more from yours truly. You'll love them, I promise. Then you'll probably get sick of them and make me take them home, but for a few days they'll be great."

He trails off, clearing his throat, and Josh takes that as his cue to step into the room.

"How is she?"

The other man jumps, twisting to face him. "Huh?"

"How is she?" he repeats, nodding to the woman whose chest lifts and falls in a steady rhythm.

Castle's eyes skim over his partner as he searches for words. "Stable. She's still sleeping off the anesthesia, should be out for a few more hours at least."

Nodding, Josh moves closer, stealing a peek at her chart. It takes effort not to flinch at what he reads; she's lucky. She's so damn lucky.

"She's already improving, though," Castle adds, his voice low. "Her coloring is better than it was an hour ago."

She's still ghastly pale, but compared to how she looked on the table, he can see the positive change.

"That's good. Her temp's good, too, which is promising. It means she's –"

"Not showing signs of infection. I know." Off his look, Castle adds, "Research for one of my first novels."

"Ah."

The other man nods. "Yeah. It didn't make it into the book, but it was good to know when my daughter was little."

"That was your daughter earlier?"

"Mhmm. And my mother, too."

He nods. "Sorry for not…"

Castle snorts, lifting Kate's hand once more, securing her slim fingers in his grip. "Yeah, well, you had other things on your mind."

Yeah, that's true.

"Still, I was out of line. Shoving you like that –"

If he's surprised by the half-apology, Castle doesn't show it. In fact, he absolves him of the offense with a quick shake of his head. "You had to operate on someone you knew. Don't worry about it; I'm tougher than I look."

That he is. Right now, he looks like hell, ragged and flayed to the bone, but he's still standing. He's still a pillar of strength at his partner's side in spite of his own exhaustion and emotional turmoil.

It's no wonder Kate had chosen him.

Josh offers the writer his hand, shaking firmly when Castle reciprocates the gesture. They'll never be drinking buddies; hell, after Kate leaves the hospital he'll probably never see her again either, but now the air is clear.

"I'll come by again soon, just to check on her."

Castle nods, turning his attention back to Kate. As if his focus had ever been anywhere else.

Josh steps out of Kate's room, lingering just long enough to watch Richard Castle drop a kiss on his ex's lips and tell her he loves her.

A/N: I had originally intended for this to be posted yesterday for CastleFanficMonday, but time got away from me and I didn't finish editing until today.

I do have a prompt in my inbox for a part 2 to Fair's Fair, which I didn't use for this story because I have a feeling the prompter was hoping for something different, so another ficlet in this universe will happen as well!