A Growing Family

Chapter 15

Rick and Kate were running through their building at 2:15 in the morning one mid-December night trying to get to their Ferrari as fast as possible. Two of their best friends had been shot.

"Kate you have to get down to Lenox Hill Hospital."

Those words ran through Kate's mind over and over. The boys were like brothers to her and if they died she didn't know what she would do.

She didn't know what had happened. Lanie just told her to get down there and that they had been when Jenny had gotten there and she needed to be with her. Kate couldn't run faster. Castle was holding her hand.

When they finally, finally, got to their building's garage, they got in the car with Rick driving. They got to the hospital in record time, barely stopping the car and throwing their keys to the valet before running in to the hospital, being greeted by two wives with tear staying on their faces.

No words were said. Only hugs while the women were held by the couple as they cried.

=======

After a few minutes, the women were able to get the story out to the couple.

Apparently, Ryan and Esposito had been going on a routine canvassing. The owner of the home took one look at their badges before shooting them and bolting. It had been a while before anyone found them, and by then they had lost a lot of blood.

"They weren't wearing vests?" Rick asked. "It was routine," Jenny started. "They didn't think they should need them," Lanie finished for her. A silent nod of understanding was given by Kate, before everyone just sat quietly, saying silent prayers and listen to the ticking of the clock beside them.

A couple hours later, no one had moved except for Kate to go to the bathroom periodically. Rick was about to offer to go get coffee for everyone when he saw a man in scrubs walk toward them. Rick noticed first. He stood up quickly, being noticed by the women who stood up too.

"Family of Kevin Ryan?" The man asked. Lanie looked disappointed, but quickly changed at the concern for her friend. "I'm his wife," Jenny said in a haste. "Your husband honestly should not have survived. The bullet went through one of his lungs, which we had to inflate. He had a lot of internal bleeding, and we had to do a blood transfusion. He is, however, in stable but critical condition. You can see him when we get him to ICU in a few minutes," the doctor explained before walking away.

Jenny fell to the floor in relief. Kate hugged her as Castle helped her into her chair. A few minutes later Jenny went back to Ryan's room. The now three sat in the waiting room waiting for information on their other friend.

=======

After another agonizing 30 minutes, a different doctor came out. The group of three stood up, knowing by her face that she was there for them. "Family of Javier Esposito?" She questioned the group, already knowing the answer by the looks on their faces. "I'm his wife," Lanie said quickly.

"Your husband is a very lucky man. The bullet narrowly missed almost all of his vital organs. It did hit his lung, but we were able to fix that relatively easily. He, did however, lose a lot of blood, and we had to do a transfusion. He is in stable, but still somewhat critical condition. You can go see him in a few minutes," the doctor said before walking away. Lanie let out a sigh of relief. Kate hugged her husband. Rick said a silent prayer of gratitude.

A few minutes later, Lanie went back to be with Esposito, leaving the couple in the waiting room. They both just sat there, unsure what to do. The adrenaline was still coursing through them. It was Rick who spoke first. "We should probably get home." Kate gave a silent nod and allowed herself to be helped out of the chair she was in by her husband. He led her out of the hospital and to the car.

When Rick had started driving, she sent a text to Jenny and Lanie saying that they had left and that they would be by to visit soon. They then went home, ready to go back to bed at 7:30 in the morning.

=======

When they got home, Alexis and Martha weren't awake yet. They walked to their bedroom and crawled into bed without a second thought. They were exhausted from the night they had had, emotionally and physically.

=======

A few days later, both Ryan and Esposito were doing well enough that people other than family were allowed to see them. Rick and Kate immediately went down to the hospital, of course bearing gifts for the two patients.

They went to Ryan's room first. He was asleep, like he had been awhile. They waved and whispered a quiet hello to Jenny. They then sat the flowers and teddy bear they had brought for him and stood by the bed.

After a few minutes of watching him sleep and a whispered conversation with Jenny, they bent down to give him a hug, Kate as well as she could with her belly, and started to walk out when they heard a cough come from the bed.

Ryan's eyes were open and he was looking around the room before his eyes landed on his wife and he smiled. Jenny hugged him like she had every time he woke up from a nap, still needing the reminder that he was still there.

"Hey stranger," Kate greeted, walking back towards him. "You gave us a scare bro," Rick said. "Sorry about that guys," Ryan said still smiling. Suddenly a worried look came across his face. "Where's Espo? Is he-" he asked, unable to say the words.

Ever since he woke up from the original surgery, he had been a little confused. He asked that question every time he woke up from a nap. "He's fine baby. He's down the hall. Remember?" Jenny comforted. "Oh thank god," Ryan said.

"Well we're gonna go. We have one more visit to make," Rick said with a wink. They each gave hugs, and the couple walked out of the room and down the hall to another room. 

=======

Walking down to the room of Javier Esposito gave the couple a nervous feeling in their stomachs. He had been touch and go for a little while because he had a bad reaction to the anesthetic, but as of now he was stable and not critical. Rick and Kate entered his room to find him smiling and talking with his wife. The couple smiled and entered the room, greeting with the patient's gift. "Hey, bro," Castle said as he walked over to give Esposito a hug. "Hey," Esposito said. Kate gave him a hug too, and walked over to stand beside Lanie.

"Hey girl! Here, have this chair," Lanie said, standing up. Kate nodded gratefully, and hugged Lanie before sitting down. The women started talking about the babies while the men talked about the most recent basketball game.

After a few minutes, the couple stood up to leave. They gave hugs and started to walk out. "You get better now. We'll see you on Christmas in two weeks, right?" Kate said from the doorway. "Wouldn't miss it," Lanie and Esposito said at the same time. "And we're the ones with a crazy brain thing," Kate said with a smile before walking out and joining her husband in the hall.

A/N: Heyyyyy *waved shyly*. It's been a while. I'm so sorry that this took me so long. I started writing and thought I was gonna get this chapter out fast, then I got hit with writer's block out of nowhere. This chapter feels really bad, but I hope you guys like it. The next chapter will be them on Christmas. Hope you enjoyed!