Fix You

It was 4:57 in the morning, and like most normal people, Richard Castle was sleeping. Now that he had finally talked to Kate again, he was more relaxed in his sleep, which meant he wasn't snoring any more and wasn't waking up as often. But the mumblings and slight drooling showed that there was still worry and anxiety in his subconscious. Suddenly, he was awakened, though not much, by a beeping sound coming from his night stand.

Rick reached out a hand and started to whack the snooze button on his clock. Finally realizing that that wasn't the source of the noise, he started to look for his phone. Finding it at the base of the lamp, he slid it open and brought it to his ear, not even bothering to open an eye to see who it was.

"Wha?" He was still mostly asleep and this was the most intelligent answer he could come up with. He held the phone to his ear for a few seconds before his was able to understand that what he was hearing on the other end of the phone was silence. Pulling his head back a few inches, he made sure his phone was the right way around. Yep. Sure is. Shaking his head, he tried to wake himself up more and then put the phone back next to his ear. Focusing more intently on whoever was calling him, he was able to make out muffled sobbing on the other end.

Worried, Rick sat up and turned on his bedside lamp. Wincing at the sudden brightness, he spoke again into the phone.

"Hello?" He waited for a minute but no response came. Once his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he looked down at the caller ID. Kate Beckett. Why is Kate calling me this early in the morning? And why is she crying? Alarmed now, he spoke into the phone again, trying to make contact with Kate.

"Kate? Kate?! What's wrong? Are you alright? What happened?" He would have continued with his stream of questions, but an answer finally came.

"Castle." Her voice was weak, sad, and cracked in the middle. "Mom."

That was all she had to say. Leaping up, he pulled on a shirt and a pair of pants.

"Don't worry Kate, I'll be there in ten minutes." Leaving a note for Alexis on the kitchen table, Rick raced out the door.

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Nine minutes later, Rick found himself in front of her door. Taking a deep breath, he tried the handle. Finding it unlocked, he opened it and walked in. Under any other circumstance, he would have marveled at being in her apartment and taken time to absorb every detail about everything she surrounded herself with, but now his mind was just focused on finding Kate and helping her.

Listening for a moment, he was able to make out a small sound coming from a hallway to his right. Walking the length of it, he quickly arrived at a dark oak door. Seeing the slivers of light escaping at its edges, he knocked once and let himself in.

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Walking into the room, Rick could make a bed and a dresser. And there, next to the dresser, on her knees, head bent over, was Kate.

"Kate?" More worried than before, if that was possible. Rushing over to her, he tripped on the corner of her bed and found himself on the ground. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, he scooted over to her. Looking her over quickly, he saw that she was clutching some letters to her chest. Over whelmed by emotion, he reached out and pulled her to his chest. Hugging her, he pressed his cheek to the top of her head and rocked her back and forth. He didn't say anything. He just rocked back and forth and held on.

He held on, even after the crying and shaking had stopped. Even after the sun had risen, filling the room with a warm glow. Not even the end of the world go make him let go of the woman next to him.

Finally, she spoke. Her voice was still sad and filled with pain, but it was stronger somehow.

"Thank you, Castle."

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Sorry about the wait, but things just got busy in my life. C'est la vie, right?

I think I'm going to end this little fanfic here, since the second season is going to start in a few days *happy dance* and conflicting stories are always kind of troublesome. But, I will be writing a series of one shots later on and there might be some more there. So, I hope you enjoyed my story and I'll see you next time I write something.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. My friend recently sent all my hopes and wishes crashing down by informing me that Santa does not exist. She seemed surprised that at nineteen I did not know this. And my very mature response was to cover my ears and pretend I couldn't hear her… Just kidding. I know you exist Santa.