Within the Script (A Stanathan Fanfiction)

Chapter Three: Crossed Lines

Stana sat outside Nathan's hospital room with her head in her hand, twisting her flesh to sooth away the headache. "He called you Kate," Seamus asked.

"Yep."

"And he thinks he's Richard Castle?" Jon questioned.

"Apparently."

Molly then questioned, "Does he know any of us?"

"Somehow I doubt that," Stana bitterly replied, dropping her hands in her lap.

Seamus then teased, "Wonder what Christina will think."

"You know, as far as I'm concerned, that woman hasn't showed up, she hasn't returned my calls and she doesn't exactly have an excuse for any of this either. She's made her choice, and maybe being distant the way she is might actually make Nathan break up with her," Stana stated.

The doctor then walked out of the room. Penny was the first to question, "So?"

"Mr. Fillion seems to be adamantly convinced he is Richard Castle. He even asked, and I quote, 'What is this, an alien experiment? Did you teleport me to some messed up alternate dimension? No. No, this has CIA mind manipulation test written all over it.'"

"Why am I both mildly impressed and a bit horrified at the same time," Seamus commented.

Molly then questioned, "Does he really think we're our characters?"

The man sighed. "Yes."

"Well, how do we change that?" Susan questioned.

Dr. Green answered, "Well, I am not the person to be asking about this. Dr. Pierce will be conducting the therapy sessions. He'll be down in a few minutes to tell you more."

"Could this be permanent?" Jon asked.

Again the man let a heavy breath slip past his lips before telling them, "We won't know until we're able to do an MRI. Unfortunately we first have to get his permission and he's insisting he speak with "his family" first. Specifically "Kate, Alexis and his mother". I figured I'd see if any of you wanted to go in there just to try to calm him down."

Susan instantly volunteered, "Of course, anything I can do to help."

Stana and Molly hesitated. Molly wouldn't go in if it was bad enough that Stana couldn't handle it. Stana knew that. So, when she told the man, "Can't be worse than last time, right," she was only saying it for the younger girl's sake.

Molly held to Stana's arm and nodded to validate that she'd be going in. The three women rose and the doctor opened the way for them to follow in. Nathan was instantly lightened to see Molly there. He gruffly beckoned, "Lexis, sweetheart, come here."

Molly let go of Stana and took only a few step in. "Nathan, you know me. It's Molly, remember? I only play your daughter on TV."

His heart seemed to fall flat on the floor and remained there. He then tried, "Well, just- humor me?" She didn't want to say no, so she didn't. She simply flew to the man's side and held onto him with a light squeeze. For a moment it felt normal to Molly, and then she remembered it wasn't the same for him. They split, and Molly remained by his side as he addressed the actress who played his mother. "I suppose you've traded the theatre in for a TV set too, mother."

"It's Susan, actually," the woman awkwardly replied.

He smiled and nodded. "The blonde looks nice."

"Thank you," Susan stated.

Nathan then turned to the woman he felt he was in love with. She looked gorgeous, even in just jeans and a sweatshirt. Every ounce of her was so thoroughly laid out in his mind that- it was impossible for him to believe she wasn't the woman he spend the last two years of his life in bed with. She had to be the coffee-loving, side-arm-carrying, mysterious, courageous, charming, astounding woman he was giving his life to. It had to be her. There was no way she wasn't his one and only. "God, you look gorgeous, not-Kate."

She chuckled under her breath. "It's Stana. You can call me Stana."

His brow furrowed. "That's an interesting name... I kind of like it."

"Thank you," she awkwardly replied. She then cut to the chase, watching him stare at her the way he did on set when they were filming a lovey-dovey sappy scene. "So, Doctor Green said you wanted to talk to us before you got an MRI?"

He cleared his throat, snapping to a different version of reality rather than just his imaginary fiancé's breath-taking self. "Yes, I- I just wanted to be sure none of you remembered me, I guess. I wanted to make sure you all were alright and that you really thought I was psychotic."

"You're not psychotic, Nathan," Molly soothed, "You're just- confused. I mean, that mugger did a real number on you. This isn't your fault."

Nathan painfully admitted, "Right. A mugger did this. It wasn't a car wreck."

"Only on screen," Stana told him. "That crash wasn't real. It was for the show."

He then answered, "Sure felt real to me." The whole room then shifted. No one was comfortable. Not one of them. Nathan then questioned Stana, "So you and I are just... friends?"

"Yeah," she honestly answered, "I mean, you have a girlfriend. She's not here right now, but- you have her."

"Has she been around at all," Nathan asked. Stana awkwardly shook her head. "Well, she sounds like a gem."

"Tell me about it."

He then told her with a full heart, "Well, I know no matter what world I'm in, no one could ever come close to being as incredible as you." At that, Stana's heart sank and she was instantly touched.

She then snapped out of it and remembered this state was only temporary. "So, are you- going to have the MRI?"

"If it puts your minds to ease, I'd do anything," Nathan honestly answered.

Stana let a small smile stream across her face and nodded before wandering back out of the room, leaving the other two with him. She had to remind herself that he wasn't himself. She knew that he would always do anything to soothe their fears anyways, but- the extra kindness, the sweet talk, the flirting was all his character. He didn't know who he was. He didn't know who she was. He didn't know what he was doing. It was weird having him speak so passionately to her outside of the lines he'd been given. Yet, somehow, she faintly wished his words were true. She wished, only slightly, that his comments were of his mind and not the mind of one of his characters. But- then again, wasn't he always charming her? Wasn't he always that sweet, kind man who did nothing but make sure she and everyone else around him was alright? So why did this feel so different? Why did this feel so odd? Why were his kind words suddenly weighing on her like a ten pound brick?

She needed to get out of there. She needed to clear her head. This was all just too weird for her and- she needed to take a while just to be alone with her thoughts. She kept seeing him and his smile. She kept reliving the moments where he couldn't stop making her laugh. She kept hearing him talk, saying a hundred different things that made her smile, made her- care for him, made her...

She couldn't stop seeing him. She couldn't stop hearing his gentle voice. She couldn't stop feeling the tender sweetness of his hand in hers, his hands holding her close, his hands caressing her body, all of it for the show, but- all of it sticking to her memory. Something kept him in the forefront of her consciousness, even when she was at home, trying to sleep, trying her hardest to think about her boyfriend and not... him. But, her efforts were useless. As she laid awake, only able to worry about him and only able to hope that he would be himself again sometime soon, her waking state was congruent to the man in the hospital bed, begging someone somewhere to bring his lover and his family back to him. Neither of them could sleep. Neither of them could get each other out of their minds.