Josh was leaving the hospital for the night as the paramedics rushed past him with a very familiar looking woman on their streatcher. "Kate?"

"Hold up!" He called to the boys pushing her to exam room one. "What's wrong with her..what happened?"

One of the EMT's turned to him and answered. "A call came over the radio that a hit and run had occured near where we were eating lunch, so we were the first responders. When we arrived, she was out cold. As we began to check for broken bones and get her vitals, she came to for a brief moment. We ask her if she remembered what happened, where she was, or who she was. All she said was 'I'm Nikki Heat', then she passed out again.

The ER physicans rushed in and started ordering tests after listening to the paramedics details of her current condition. She was bleeding from her nose and ear so it was apparent that she had a sugnificant head injury. One of her lungs had collapsed so they inserted a chest tube and she began to stabilize.

"Her name is Kate Beckett." Josh informed his co-workers. "She is a regular here..I'll go get her file and look up her emergancy contact so I can inform them of what has happened." As he turned to leave, he heard her mumble something over and over..'book?'..or 'cook?'..he wasn't sure what she was trying to say, so as they pushed her down the hall to CT, he located her file.

"Son of a Bitch! I should have known she would have HIM as her emergancy contact." Josh complained as he pulled out his cell to make the call. He swore under his breath as the phone rang, cursing this man that had taken her away from him.

Josh heard laughter in the background as the voice on the other line answered. "King of the 'Verse"

"I hate to interrupt 'playtime' Mr. Castle, but you need to come to the hospital. There's been an accident. It's Kate. She was hit by a car and she..."

"I'm on my way!" Rick cut him off "Which hospital?"

Martha and Alexis clung to his side as they entered the waiting room. Josh smirked at the three of them as he made his way over. "She is in and out of conciousness right now." He informed them as they sat glued to his every word. "They put a chest tube in to release pressure on a lung that had collapsed and rushed her in for a cat scan. She was bleeding from her nose and ears when they brought her in, so the biggest concern right now is her brain."

"Oh my God!" Alexis sobbed into her fathers chest. Rick held his daughter tight to his chest as he motioned for Josh to continue. "She is confused right now..she told the paramedics her name was Nikki Heat and I heard her repeat one word over and over as they rolled her down to CT."

"What was the word?" Martha ask as she held her sons hand.

"I'm not sure..sounded like 'book'."

Rick squeezed his mothers hand as the realization hit him. "Rook! She said Rook. She thinks she's Nikki Heat and she was calling out for Rook."

"Does this have something to do with a case you guys are working on Mr. Castle?" Josh ask as Rick began to pace the floor, mumbling to himself. "No," Martha answered for him, "It's the character names of his newest series of novels. Nikki Heat's character is based on Detective Beckett, and Jameson Rook is..."

"Him." Josh nodded towards Rick and Martha nodded. He knew now that Kate could have never been his. Her heart belonged to the writer. He hung his head in defeat as he moved to the door. "I'll make sure someone keeps you updated." And he left.

Rick had called the Captian, the boys, Kate's dad, and Lanie. They all seemed to arrive at the same time. The waiting room was full of Kate's 'family' and they all listened as Rick repeated what Josh had told them earlier. A doctor walked through the door and the room fell silent. "She's awake now and asking for Rook. Is there anyone here by that name?"

"That's me." Rick announced as he pushed past everyone.

"I need to tell you all somethings before you see her." The doctor said as he motioned for them all to take a seat. "First of all, let me say that Miss Beckett is a very lucky woman. She has two bruised ribs, a sprained wrist, and a lot of scrapes and bruises. But...she is very confused right now. She answers most questions correctly, like what day it is, who is the president, what do you do for a living, but she thinks her name is Nikki Heat."

"So..What do we do doc.?"

"Well, we don't want to upset her by telling her anything she doesn't need to know right now, and trying to force her to remember who she really is, may do more harm than good. So...I would suggest playing along for now. We have no reason to believe this will last more than a couple days, so don't worry too much if she doesn't remember you or gets your name wrong, we expect her to make a full recovery and be back to her old self within 48 hours."

"Can I see her now?" Rick ask as he stood to his feet.

"Follow me, Mr. Castle."

"The name's Rook, doc..remember?" Rick nudged the Dr.'s arm and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Getting into character already huh?" The Dr. laughed as they reached her room. "I have read Heat Wave and Naked Heat and all I can say is..you are one lucky man!"

"Believe me, I know." Rick told him as they heard Kate call out "Rook!"

His heart ached as he looked at her bruised face and arms. Bandages wrapped her wrist and head. She still wore a smile and God she was beautiful. She extended her hand to him as her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh Ka..uhhhmm" Rick caught himself just in time and corrected his error. "OK, uhm, it's ok. I'm right here." He whispered as he took her hand and held back his own tears.

"Kiss me Rook." Kate said as she pulled him to her.

The doctor watched as Rick leaned down and lightly touched his lips to hers. Then she ran her good hand up into his hair and he heard one of them moan as she deepened the kiss. Quietly pulling the door closed, he said to himself as he shook his head smiling...'A damn lucky man!'