Thank you so so much to my amazing beta AndreaCherrypie, because without her this story would not be anywhere near what it is now. You're amazing! To everyone else, we've been working on this story since August last year, so I hope you all love it as much as I do:) Enjoy!


Kate has been dealing with a nasty head cold for the last week or two, and she's tired of it. At first it had just been a minor annoyance, but her steady decline over the last few days has left her feeling terrible.

It's pretty easy to pinpoint the cause of her illness; it had been a miserable fall. She got absolutely drenched in the rain at a crime scene with the boys, who regrettably had suffered zero side effects in comparison. It started as a sneeze here and there, a scratchy throat, and then a few days later was accompanied by a dry cough and stuffy nose. She'd managed to keep it on the down-low throughout their case with Serena Kaye out of sheer bullheadedness, but soon after the woman left their precinct Kate had mentally conceded and accepted that she felt, and still feels, awful.

So now, two weeks on from that dastardly crime scene and subsequent rain, Kate still feels absolutely exhausted and is struggling to keep her eyes open over her paperwork. She steadfastly ignores the pointed stares of Esposito and Ryan as she tiredly scrubs her hand over her brow and forces her eyes to focus on her computer screen. No matter what she does she simply can't shift the unfocused blur from her eyes, and the strain is giving her a headache.

Kate does her best to push all thoughts of retiring back to bed from her mind and concentrate on the task at hand, though there's nothing she'd love more than to get another twelve hours of sleep on top of what she'd already stolen the night before. If she were to think about it, the excessive amount of rest she'd been requiring just to function over the last few days may have been worrisome, but her only current concern is just how long she has to wait until shift-end and she can go back to bed.

So far this morning – after three snoozes of her alarm and doggedly dragging herself out of bed - Kate has managed to plough her way through a casefile or two, though they'd both been pretty straight forward. Flipping to the next page of her current stack of paperwork Kate stifles a cough, lest she call more attention to herself in the form of the boys. They've been trying to keep it subtle but she's noticed their attempts to help her take it easy, and she hates being babied with a passion.

It's just a cold, nothing to be dramatic about.

Though, Kate supposes as she disguises her next cough by clearing her throat, after her shooting and later disappearance they have certainly earned the right to mother her like a pair of hens, so she's been doing her best to put up with them. Apart from when they suggested she try tea instead of coffee, which is where she put her foot down.

Nothing gets between her and her coffee.

When Castle rolls into the precinct at 10am, Kate feels even worse for wear – which, in comparison to the last few days, is not a good sign. She's no longer able to swallow her coughs - which makes her question whether it was ever a good idea in the first place - and it feels as if a leaden weight is sitting heavily on her chest. It takes a conscious effort to try and breathe normally, and deeper, fuller breaths are almost out of the question. After recovering from her shooting Kate had never thought that she'd once more find breathing a tiring task, for Christ's sake. Though, to be fair, it seems she finds everything tiring nowadays.

She gratefully receives her take-out coffee from Castle with a relieved smile, tipping her nose down to greedily inhale the curling steam rising from the cup.

"Thanks, Castle."

She pretends she can't see him eyeing her as she takes a sip, hoping that if she doesn't address it, he won't say whatever it is on his mind. She knows she looks like crap, because she feels like crap, but acknowledging said crap won't make her feel any better.

Luckily for Kate, Castle chooses to remain silent and she buries herself in her paperwork while he pretends to play Angry Birds. Instead he takes in her haggard appearance. Dark circles under her eyes and a pale pallor to her skin that looks anything but healthy. Her clothes hang differently on her frame than they had a few weeks ago, and Castle's brow furrows as he notices that she's lost weight, even hidden under the baggy sweater she's wearing.

"I'm going to grab lunch, you want anything?" Castle interrupts her thoughts sometime later, and Kate takes a glance at her watch to note that it's almost one.

"Uh, I'm not too hungry actually, but thank you," she politely declines and attempts to return to her work, blinking her eyes stubbornly to return their focus to the page.

"No dice, Beckett," Castle tells her firmly. "That's what you said yesterday. You need to eat something whether it appeals to your appetite or not."

Kate keeps her expression blank as she remembers skipping dinner and heading straight to bed the night before. Castle is looking at her with concern and she knows she needs to do better with her eating, but she's Just. Not. Hungry.

Kate takes in the solemn set of his brow and tries her luck.

"I'm fine."

Castle raises a pointed eyebrow, and she deflates in her seat. He's not going to take no for an answer, is he?

"How about soup?" Castle offers, and Kate scrunches her nose before deciding that it's her best option.

"Sure, okay," she replies with resignation, and reaches tiredly for her purse to pull out a handful of crumpled dollar bills.

A large hand gently pushes hers back down.

"I've got it, Beckett." Castle tells her gently, "Chicken noodle?"

"Tomato?"

"Sure," he smiles kindly.

"Thanks Castle," she replies, and he's already disappearing towards the elevators.


As Castle makes his way to their favorite deli, he can't stifle his concern for his partner. There's been something different about her the last few days, and sure, she's been sick for a while, but it seems far worse today than the previous days. Shouldn't she have fought it off by now? And yeah, Castle knows that a cold isn't a hugely debilitating illness, but this one seems to have really knocked the hard-nosed detective on her ass, and he's worried.

Castle knows that she doesn't take coddling well, but he debates at which stage he may have to step in because it's clear that something has to give. He's been worried about overstepping ever since her return after her shooting, but this time he might have to.

Shaking those thoughts away for the time being, Castle steps inside the deli, places their orders and then chooses to distract himself on his phone. By the time the order has been prepared and he's making his way back into the bullpen he's sufficiently calmer.

That is, until he hears a wet, rasping cough from Kate as he approaches her desk. Cringing, he places the soup and sandwich - he couldn't help himself, she could do with the extra calories right now - beside her keyboard and takes his seat again. Once she's gathered herself, Kate mutters her thanks and after a hard glare from Castle begins to slurp slowly on her soup. She alternates between that and taking rabbit bites of her sandwich until she pushes the cartons away, still half-full.

Before Castle can attempt to guilt her into eating any more, she interrupts his thoughts with a series of hacking coughs that appear to take her breath away. He exchanges a glance with Ryan and Esposito, who pause their own lunch in concern. Kate waves them off, not even looking up from her desk.

"I'm fine," she tries again, breathing heavily, and is embarrassed to hear a wheeze as she exhales. She clears her throat to try and cover the noise.

"Kate, maybe it's time to go home," Castle says quietly, and Kate attempts to roll her eyes.

"Castle, I'm-" she's about to say fine, but he cuts her off with a well-timed glare. "I'll be fine sitting here and filing paperwork. Okay?"

That's as much of an admission to not being 100% fine that he'll ever get, and Castle, finely trained actor that he is, nods his assent and waits until she's absorbed in her paperwork once more. Then he disappears into the stairwell to call someone he thinks might be better equipped to help the stubborn detective. Someone that can scare her into submission.

"Lanie?"

He describes the situation and his concern to the best of his ability to the Medical Examiner, whose tone worries similarly.

"And you said she's wheezing now, too?" Lanie asks, and Castle nods before remembering that she can't see him.

"A little; I think it's a recent development. She's trying to hide it, though."

"Of course she is," the M.E. mutters darkly. "Okay, keep her there. My break just started and I'm coming over."

Castle blinks and before he can reply the call has ended. Glad that the important decisions now rest on the fiery Medical Examiner and not himself, he's content to go sit back down in his chair and wait it out. Before Castle can sit, however, a blood-shot eyed Kate sheepishly asks for a coffee. Only happy to oblige for the clearly unwell woman, Castle hurries towards the breakroom.

"Your wish is my command, Detective," he says over his shoulder, and sees her roll her tired eyes bemusedly.

Castle procures the finest cup of coffee for his muse, who he can see tiredly blinking her eyes open and closed through the blinds from the break room. When he returns bearing the fruit of his labor, she doesn't bother to hide the tiredness now, smiling tightly as she wraps her frail hands around the cup. He hadn't known she was cold too, but it's equally worrying if it indicates a fever. He can tell just by the way she's pulled the sleeves of her fuzzy sweater up and over her hands.

"Thank you," she mumbles, mouth already halfway to the rim of the cup, her eyes blinking sluggishly. As she drinks, Castle checks his watch and hopes Lanie's arrival is imminent.

Restless, he rises and walks to the hall by the elevators, agitatedly pacing back and forth while he waits. Finally, the doors open with a ding, and Castle descends on Doctor Parish.

"Sorry for the delay, I had to take a cab," Lanie apologizes. "Now, where's my girl?"

Lanie and Castle briefly discuss their game plan - namely, getting Kate out of the precinct at all costs. After their conspiratorial mutterings in the hall, they emerge out into the bullpen to find Kate slumped over her keyboard and fast asleep. Lanie stalls mid-step, momentarily thrown at the sight of her friend in the unnatural position, and glances at Esposito and Ryan.

"We didn't want to wake her," Javier explains quietly. "She looks like she could use the sleep."

Castle steps forward and gingerly pulls a lock of Kate's hair out of her unfinished coffee and grimaces, wiping the excess off on his handkerchief. He watches as rows and rows of Z's fill the document on Kate's computer, the keyboard depressed by her nose. His concern for his friend is too great for him to fully appreciate the dramatic irony at work.

"She's really not right, Lanie," Ryan says, rubbing his brow. "I've never seen her like this before."

The Medical Examiner wrinkles her nose and wholly concurs with the statement.

"That's it," she says, taking her phone from her pocket and tapping out a text, "I'm taking the rest of the day off." Lanie crouches down beside Kate's chair and gives the Detective's shoulder a wiggle. No reaction. She holds Kate's wrist and takes her heart rate to confirm that the detective is just sleeping deeply. It takes a firm prod to finally force Kate into consciousness.

"Lanie?" Glassy eyes blink at her, expression adorably confused. "What're you doing here?"

"Castle and I are taking you home, honey," Lanie's hand brushes Kate's cheek. "You're not well." After seeing Kate in the flesh Lanie has decided it's not up for discussion; she needs to leave and that's that.

Finally, Kate sits up fully and looks around the bullpen to take a moment to debate Lanie's statement. On the one hand, Kate feels as if everyone is being extremely dramatic over a head cold. An awful, unrelenting cold, but a cold nonetheless. On the other hand - Kate's fuzzy brain contemplates - she's extremely tired and going home sounds heavenly.

"It's just a cold," she tries arguing weakly, looking at her friends gathered awkwardly around her.

Esposito scoffs.

"A cold that's knocked you on your ass," he says gruffly to hide his concern. Kate squints.

"Okay, fine," she assents, which worries Castle exponentially, knowing she must be feeling awful to give in so easily. While that thought is mildly terrifying, he's not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"You two get our girl home, me an' Ryan'll let Gates know when she gets back from her meeting," Esposito says quietly over Lanie's shoulder. The discretion is hardly necessary, however, as it appears that Kate is struggling to pay attention to anything outside the immediate vicinity as she makes a vague attempt at gathering her belongings. Lanie nods and signals for Castle to step up to Kate's other site.

"Alright, Beckett, up we get," he encourages in a way that would usually prompt an acidic glare, but this time she hardly bats an eyelid. Together they heave Kate up to standing, where she takes a second too long to gain her footing.

"You think you can walk to the car?" he asks her, plucking the keys to her Crown Vic from the desktop, practically daring her to deny him permission to drive. The argument never arrives, however.

"Think so," she sighs, and begins the trudge towards the elevators, steadily regaining her balance and faculties. Lanie hefts Kate's purse onto her shoulder as the trio cross the bullpen.

While they walk, Castle studies the brunette between them. He's alarmed to see her eyelids at half-mast, appearing hardly cognizant despite standing upright. He can feel the heat of her skin through her shirt too, and thanks his lucky stars that he had managed to get Lanie's assistance in figuring this out. He's taken care of Alexis when she's been sick, but right now he feels in over his head.


Castle drives the Crown Vic as Lanie rides in the back with Kate. It's a twenty-minute drive to Kate's apartment, and the motion and noise of the vehicle seems to have roused her further. She grumbles discontentedly in her seat, and rocks to rest her head against Lanie's shoulder.

"Honey, how long have you felt like this?" Lanie asks, disapproval lacing her mothering tone. Kate shrugs.

"I've had the cold a week or two but I started feeling better a few days ago. I thought I was getting over it," she says as pointedly as one can with a sore throat and stuffy nose.

Lanie rubs her thigh.

"Have you been drinking enough?" She holds up a finger as Kate opens her mouth. "And coffee doesn't count."

"I-" Kate's jaw snaps shut again and she shrugs. She sits away from Lanie and attempts to stifle a cough that rips through her chest like Velcro and has her eyes watering.

"Castle?" Lanie tries instead. "Has she been drinking enough water?"

Kate sniffs miserably. Castle hums and haws from the driver's seat, which is answer enough for Lanie.

"Okay." She rubs Kate's shoulder. "Let's get you home and see if we can get you feeling better."


Together Lanie and Castle appropriate Kate upstairs and onto her couch. The woman in question coughs, the noise thick and wet, and has the room's other occupants cringing in sympathy. Castle presses a pre-opened bottle of water into Kate's hand and makes sure she takes a drink.

"Kate, how long has your cough been productive?" Lanie sits beside her on the couch and takes her hand. Kate's fingers twine weakly with hers, brow furrowing but doesn't answer and instead looks helplessly at Castle.

"Uhh," Castle scratches his head. "I think it's maybe a new development? I hadn't heard it sound wet like that 'till this morning," he supplies.

He casts a worried look in Kate's direction, who sinks further into the couch and burrows under a throw blanket she dragged from the back of the couch. She hasn't even seemed to register their concern, which is telling of itself. She looks miserable.

"I'm tired, Lanie," Kate whines out of the blue, pulling her legs up and onto the chair and curling against the arm. Lanie brushes the back of her hand against Kate's forehead - who shrinks away from the cold touch - and casts a worried glance at Castle.

"Okay, close your eyes, honey."

As soon as Kate does so, Lanie takes Castle's sleeve and tugs him towards the kitchen, where Kate remains in sight but is unlikely to overhear.

"What are you thinking?" he asks.

"She doesn't look good," Lanie worries her lip. "I'm going to check her temperature, give her some acetaminophen and see if that helps any before we decide our next move."

"What do you think that will be?" he chances with a grimace.

"If what I think is happening is correct - that she's developing pneumonia - it might have to be the hospital," she tells Castle, who gulps.

"Pneumonia can be treated from home sometimes, though, right?" he asks hopefully.

"It can, if the person is otherwise healthy and it's not too severe, but it's been what, five months since she got shot? Pneumonia can put extra strain on the heart, and I'm concerned about the effects it might have."

Castle turns a unique shade of gray.

"Right, okay," he fumbles, "Whatever you think is best."

A few minutes later they join Kate in the living room, who shivers under her blanket.

"Kate, open."

Lanie holds out a thermometer, and the Detective does so without complaint.

Just as Lanie moves to remove the device from Kate's mouth, the woman in question whips it from under her tongue and thrusts it to Lanie, lurching forwards with a wracking series of coughs. Castle rubs her soothingly on her back as Lanie studies the thermometer, the room filled with the wheeze of Kate's tired lungs as she struggles to catch her breath.

"Deep breaths, Kate," the writer tells her as her fingers scrunch uncomfortably into the fabric of the throw on her lap.

Her temperature, a worrying 102.4 degrees, gives Lanie pause before she hands Kate some Tylenol and allows her to curl onto her side onto the couch cushions. She groans as she wiggles to find a comfortable position but quickly appears to fall asleep.

As Kate's body goes slack, Castle can't help but feel guilty as to how the detective managed to get into this state. Logically he knows it isn't his - or anybody else's fault that she'd caught the pesky bacteria - but perhaps if she'd taken a few days off earlier she would have been in a better stead to fight it off. At the very least he's glad that he took the time to contact Lanie earlier that afternoon, and they can make sure the stubborn woman gets the help she deserves.


It's almost an hour later when Kate next stirs, having slept deeply as Lanie and Castle watched over her. No matter what she said, the pair were both in silent agreement that they wouldn't be leaving her alone anytime soon. They listened as Kate's breaths produced cute little whistles as she breathed in and out, and the pair had quietly entertained themselves so as to allow Kate to get some much-needed rest, Lanie gently raking her fingers through Kate's hair.

That is, until heaving, rasping coughs launch her into consciousness, hurriedly sitting upright in her panic to take full breath as the whites of her eyes flash dangerously.

"Nice slow breaths, you're okay," Lanie instructs calmly, hoping to reduce Kate's agitation, which would only cause her to breathe faster. "You good?" she asks a minute or so later once Kate has her breath back. Kate nods briskly but doesn't look either of them in the eye.

"Ow," she mutters when her breathing has returned to a semi-regular rhythm.

"Ow?" Castle repeats, his head whipping to study the woman beside him, immediately concerned.

"Kate? What hurts?" Lanie presses, leaning towards her friend.

Kate looks at her blankly for a moment while the question processes, needing to internally dissect the words in her tired brain. Eventually she lifts a shaky hand and places it against her sternum.

"Here." Her voice grits.

"Your chest hurts?" Lanie asks with more urgency now, and Castle can feel himself start to sweat, knowing that this is a bad development.

Kate nods, eyes watering.

"You have been coughing pretty hard," says Castle, hoping that's all it is. "You could have pulled a muscle." Unfortunately, Kate shakes her head.

"No, it's not like that," she argues, frowning. Lanie lays a hand on her forearm.

"Describe it then."

"It's more of a sharp pain - when I breathe in," she confirms. "Is that bad? That's bad, right?" Kate mumbles, a sense of panic invading her tone. A small wheezing cough escapes a moment later and she winces again.

"Can you sit forward for me?" Lanie asks, evading the question and already reaching for her medical bag. Castle's eyes widen when Lanie produces a stethoscope and gently helps Kate remove her sweater and hike her shirt up to give her access to her lower back, palpating at it and instructing her to take some deep breaths.

Frowning, Castle watches as Lanie guides Kate into crossing her arms over her chest to hug herself and expose her shoulder blades. Then she takes two fingers at a time and taps across Kate's back, listening to the percussion of the sounds in deep concentration.

"Sweetie, each time I touch your back with the stethoscope I need you to take a deep breath in and out through your mouth, okay?"

Kate nods her assent. Her arm shoots out with a wince as she takes the first deep breath, her painful chest screaming at her. Castle carefully catches the stray limb and helps put it back across her chest as Kate attempts to breathe through the pain, seeing tears shoot to her eyes and being unable to do anything to help.

"I know it hurts, you're doing great," Lanie says, rubbing at her shoulder and Kate huffs and rolls her eyes with a reluctant smile.

"What are you looking for?" Castle asks Lanie, watching Kate's eyes on him. He does his best to wipe the nervousness from his face as he watches, but by the look that's reciprocated on hers he's not sure he's done a good job.

"The sound of her lungs. If it's high pitched and crackled it's indicative of fluid," Lanie describes succinctly while Kate bites her lip and tries not to shiver. The flesh of her back is goose pimpled as it is exposed to the cold room. Lanie waves Castle closer and hands him the earpieces of the stethoscope to listen.

"You hear that?" she asks, and he frowns. When Kate breathes it sounds like pop rocks in his ears. Not good.

To Kate's credit, though, she sits through the fussing and allows the pair to hum over the examination.

"Eyes closed, Castle," Lanie tells him once he hands the stethoscope back, and he quickly complies. She moves around to Kate's front and unbuttons her blouse. "I'm going to do the same on the front, okay?" she asks Kate, who nods, a little short of breath.

From Lanie's serious demeanor it's clear to Kate that she's concerned. It's worrisome, but the detective would likely put more thought into the situation if she wasn't feeling so tired. This time Lanie guides Kate to place her hands on her hips before repeating the same procedure, frowning as she moves over Kate's clavicles, ribs and then wordlessly skips over the circular scar on her chest. When her examination is over Kate tilts to the side and explodes with a rattling cough that shakes her whole body to its core.

"It's okay, I'm done," Lanie reassures as she helps to button Kate's blouse and allows her to recover from her coughing fit, breaths coming quickly again. "Eyes open again, Castle." The Medical Examiner leans forward and wraps a comforting arm around Kate's shoulder in an attempt to soothe Kate as her chest heaves and rasps, "I know, I know. Don't worry, we'll get this figured out."

Kate nods and then squirms in Lanie's grasp until she is eventually released.

"I need the restroom," Kate explains and uses the arm of the chair to guide herself upright, refusing to take help in the form of Castle's outstretched arm. The throw blanket is now draped across her shoulders and she shivers, shuffling her way to the bathroom. As soon as she's out of earshot Castle turns to Lanie.

"She's not okay."

Lanie raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms.

"And I agree with you," she tells him.

"You're worried, aren't you?" Castle asks.

Lanie Takes a deep breath. "I think she needs to go to the hospital," she says, raising her palms at Castle's upcoming protest, "even if that's the last place either of us wants her to be. But trying to get her to willingly go there short of dragging her kicking and screaming isn't going to be easy."

Castle sighs as he mulls this over.

"We have to try though," the M.E. adds.

Before the writer can respond, they're interrupted by the sound of the flushing toilet and creaking pipes.

Castle goes to speak again when a series of wet coughs sounds come from beyond the doorway. They're fierce and unrelenting, and Lanie and Castle quickly make their way into Beckett's bedroom where the woman in question is slumped dangerously against the dresser, hacking coughs still sounding and punctuated by harsh, gasping breaths. They both move to support her as she's shaky on her feet and at risk of falling.

"I- I can't- breathe, Lane," Kate gasps, and Lanie shushes her and brushes a soothing hand over her cheek.

"Don't try and talk, concentrate on taking some nice, slow, deep breaths," she instructs, "Copy me, Kate. In and out."

Kate blinks through her panic at being unable to take a breath. It feels as if all oxygen has been sucked from the room and it has left her feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Lanie and Castle seem to realize this just as her knees begin to buckle, and they half carry her the few feet it takes to perch her on the edge of her bed. She tips into Lanie's side and rests her head on her friend's shoulder, her breaths finally coming a bit easier as the weight on her chest begins to ease.

Kate doesn't realize her eyes have slipped closed until Lanie's fingers begin to deftly comb through her hair, and she opens them again.

"What was that?" she finally speaks, her voice airy and hoarse. "I couldn't breathe." A worried Kate flicks her eyes between Castle and Lanie, who holds two fingers to Kate's wrist and surreptitiously takes her heart rate.

"Kate, I think you have pneumonia," Lanie says calmly. She looks at Castle. "And it's time to go to the hospital."