Lost and Found (A Castle Fanfiction)

With Or Without You

At the hospital, Kate didn't say a word to anyone. She simply drew the eyes of many bystanders by the heart broken look in her eyes. When she got inside, taking a moment to catch up with reality and find the front desk, she dashed up to the nurse's station to ask, "Someone called- my- my dad was in an accident of some kind."

"What's his name," the woman calmly asked.

"Jim. Jim Beckett."

The nurse searched her papers for less than five seconds, a time slot which seemed like an eternity for the panicking woman waiting to hear something from about her father. When she finally gave a room number, Kate was gone before the nurse could tell her anything else. Once she got to the room they had set him up in, she searched rapidly before finding his bed. His heart was being monitored and his arms were restrained, but aside from that, he seemed perfectly healthy. Then, she got closer.

His hand was bandaged. His face was gashed. He looked like he had been in a fight, only he didn't smell like alcohol, and he wasn't a violent man and the only time he got close to violent was when he was drunk. She walked up beside him, looking at him sleep, searching for any other injuries. There didn't seem to be any, which was reassuring. She just couldn't understand why he was knocked out. Finally, two men, one a few years older than her, and another man who had to be in his forties walked in. "I take it you must be his daughter," the elder man asked.

Kate pulled herself out of her chair, trying not to let her voice give confirmation of weakness the way her red, puffy eyes did. "What- what happened? What's wrong with him?"

The man sighed to himself and said simply, "Your father picked a fight with the wrong man. But- in a way he's very lucky. On the way here, the paramedics noticed he was dehydrated after he threw up, and they told us to pump his stomach. He could have been killed with the levels of alcohol in his bloodstream."

Kate swallowed hard on the guilt piling up in her chest. She didn't know why he had suddenly gotten so bad, but- she knew she hadn't been there for him the way she should have been. He needed her, and she was ignoring him to play with her newest baeu. It wasn't right. She had turned her back on the last family member she had, on the only man that loved her unconditionally, the one man who needed her most. She felt horrible, but she didn't let the utter hallowing out the man did to her show on her face. Instead, she asked, "When can I take him home?"

"Um, you'll have to talk with the officer outside about that," the doctor replied, "but other than that, he should be well enough to leave in a few hours. We'll keep him for observation, but he's reasonably healthy for the amount of alcohol he'd ingested." That dig stung Kate, but again, she didn't say a word. "I would however like to allow my shadow to look at your father's wounds if that's not a trouble. He's a fourth year undergrad deciding between becoming a doctor or a surgical technician." Kate looked at the tall, looming, dark haired man and nodded, refusing to move from her spot. The doctor then told the man, "Alright Mr. Davidson, come this way." They began inspecting the wound on Jim's cheek, supposedly working, however, the younger man couldn't keep his eyes off her. "Mr. Davidson!" The doctor's call was severely agitated. After a questioning look from the student and rolling eyes from the doctor, the two left, leaving a wrecked young college student in their wake.

After three hours of growing anger toward herself and her father, Kate stood, wandering out of the room for need of serenity. As she trotted back out the way she had come in, she never thought she would come face to face only ten feet from her writer who looked so relieved to see her it was as though she had been the injured party. All she could manage was, "Rick?!"

He moved closer, only asking, "How is he?"

"Unconscious," Kate replied in some shock.

Rick then looked down into her eyes. "What happened?"

"He got in a fight while suffering from alcohol poisoning. He'll be fine. What the hell are you doing here?"

He saw she was being abrasive. Her eyes were dark. Her posture was stiff. Looking at the people around them, he said, "Let's go in there." She looked at him, absolutely livid, breaking his guiding hold on her side. She walked ahead of him and was silent through the doors, waiting for him to explain himself. He then calmly commented, "I wanted to make sure you both were alright."

"We're fine, Rick. We can function without you."

"I know you can," Rick stated, surrendering to her completely. "I just wanted to see you both, confirm for myself that you were fine."

"Well, you've seen it. Now, if you don't mind, this is a family matter, and I don't need or want your help, so back off!"

"Kate," the writer lightly soothed.

She snapped. "No! Rick, just- just go, alright?!"

The pain in his eyes was not enough to overcome the hatred in hers in that moment. Instead, her eyes only reflected further severity in her words, though inside, her heart was tearing. "Alright, Kate. I'll go. Just- promise me you'll call when you're ready."

The young girl sighed, not giving an ounce of belief into her answer. "Fine, Rick. Now- please, just go."

The writer sighed, knowing she wasn't herself, knowing she didn't seem to want to call in that moment. Still, for her, he turned around and walked away, thinking he was doing the right thing. He had no idea how wrong he was, or how much that one mistake would end up costing them both.