This is a rather short-ish chapter, the next one will DEFINITELY be longer! And sorry for the late update... a month is REALLY too long. My hectic life and homework, and culminating (a school thing) got in the way. I'll try and be better, I promise ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. If I did, Castle and Beckett would be in Honolulu right now, on their honeymoon. And they'd be making little Castle babies. And ... okay, I won't get carried away. Castle, Beckett, Alexis, Ryan and Esposito (and everything else about the show is, as always, owned by Mr. Marlowe. ;D

Room 698

"I need to see Alexis Castle, what room is she in?" huffed Castle to receptionist in the lobby of the hospital.

Sir, please, lower your voice. This is a hospital" she scolded. "May I ask our relationship to Alexis?" She consulted her computer.

"I'm her father!" He lowered his voice a bit, but Beckett could still see the panic in his eyes.

"Do you have I.D.?" the receptionist asked. "It's protocol, I'm sorry. She's a minor, I can't have random people bursting into her room." she explained hastily when she saw the frustration in Castle's eyes.

Beckett flashed her badge at the receptionist, and Ryan and Esposito followed suit.

"I'm Detective Kate Beckett, and these are Detectives Ryan and Esposito, from the NYPD. I'm sorry, but we need to see her. Yes, this is her father, Richard Castle. Can we see her please?"

"Richard Castle, the author? I'm sorry, Mr. Castle, go right ahead. Shes in room 698." the receptionist apologized hurriedly.

Castle hurried off to the elevator, calling a quick "Thank you!" over his shoulder. After waiting about two seconds for the elevator,he headed for the stairs instead, taking them two at a time. The detectives followed closely behind him.

When they reached the sixth floor, Castle veered to the right and took off. He slid into an open door, almost running smack into the doctor.

"Alexis." Castle croaked, before dropping to his knees beside her bed.

Her eyes were closed and puffy, her chest rose and fell in jagged patterns. She had a deep cut on her forehead, and her cheeks were bruised. Her arm was in a cast and she was hooked up to an IV and a breathing tube was inserted in her nose.

When Beckett saw the redhead teenager's swollen face, she almost gasped. Alexis was always so lively. It was so weird and wrong to see her looking broken and frail. Alexis had such a big personality that Beckett had never really realized how small the girl really was.

"Mr. Castle?" the doctor asked. "I'm Doctor Stevens."

Castle stood and shook the doctor's hand.

"I know you want to hear that we'll fix her up and she'll be back on her feet in no time. I want to be able to say that. I can't, though." Dr. Stevens sighed. "We can't figure out for the life of us what's wrong with her. She obviously has a few bumps and scrapes, and some broken bones, but we don't know why she was unconscious. She was found by a passer-by, hardly breathing. We're running tests to see what might have caused that."

"Thank you." Castle bit his lip and looked back at his little girl.

"The man that found her said that moments before he saw her, an average looking guy wearing a black t-shirt ran out of the alley she was in. We're not sure if he did anything to her, but it's definitely a possibility." the doctor said, taking a tep back. "I'll leave you to it." He left the room with a small smile.

Castle sat down and put his head in his hands.

Ryan and Esposito tentatively poked their heads in the room. Beckett indicated with her hand that they could come in. They tiptoed in and Ryan gasped when he saw the redhead in the bed. Castle let out a sigh and lifted his head.

"I should go call Meredith." he whispered, his voice breaking.

The writer stood and headed for the door. Beckett looked over at Alexis.

"Come on, Alexis, wake up. Your dad needs you. Come on, Sunshine." the detective said gently.

Castle heard Beckett as he was leaving the room, and paused in the doorway. Seeing Beckett care about Alexis made his heart all warm and fuzzy, and for a brief second, he forgot that his daughter was in the hospital. He blinked back tears and continued out of the room.