The plot for this story comes about after reading an amazing newspaper article about a woman in Washington with a similar experience (hard to believe, but true). I went completely into the world of fiction with it, as I found the possibilities too intriguing to pass up. It is out there, but I hope you enjoy this attempt to write something after such a long period of writer's block. You all should be warned I have a tendency for similar story lines… odd, but similar threads…

Disclaimer: I own nothing, and as of late haven't been able to write them even if I did...

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.

The steady noise buzzed around his head, familiar yet completely out of place. Something wasn't right but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Where am I? He questioned himself silently, desperately attempting to make sense of the odd, dimly lit surroundings.

His eyes had yet to open, but he could tell that the lighting was low. He felt warm, comfortable and swore he could hear the occasional beeping sound and the steady murmuring of voices. That and the steady swoosh, swoosh, swoosh that seemed to keep time with his own beating heart.

He shifted, tried to move, finally opening his eyes. The room was indeed dimly lit, and things seemed odd. They seemed out of place. I'm in a hospital. Why am I in a hospital?

He searched his brain for the last thing he remembered. Beckett. I remember Beckett in the car. She was yelling. We were yelling. Why? The distinct feeling that he and his girlfriend had been fighting settled in on him, but he couldn't recall why. Nothing made sense.

Castle sat up, stretching his back tentatively as he rose. He took a look around the room, noting the people who currently kept vigil. His mother sat on a chair across from his bed, sleeping with her head propped against the wall in the corner of the dimly lit room with pink walls.

Next to his bed was Alexis, covered in a blanket and stretched out on the hospital recliner that was situated between the two beds in the room. She didn't appear comfortable, but was clearly too exhausted to care. The red-head was in a deep sleep.

Another chair was placed near Martha and held Jim Beckett, his head propped against the wall behind him as he rested. Aside from the beeping the room seemed quiet. The swooshing sound he'd heard earlier had stopped, the source unknown to him.

The sight of his loved ones was noted, but what took priority for Castle was what seemed out of place. In the hospital bed across from him lay Kate Beckett, unconscious but peaceful. An older woman, one that looked strikingly like Kate, held the detective's unconscious body in her arms. She appeared to be completely unaffected by the sleeping people in the room as she hummed a familiar tune to the detective. She ran her fingers softly through the younger woman's hair in a very loving manner.

Castle's attention shifted again to the oddest sight of all. There, on his very own bed sat a child. She couldn't have been any older than 5 or 6. Despite the fact that Castle had never seen her before, she appeared to know him. Her calm smile was disconcerting as she stared, her bright blue eyes penetrating him.

Confusion continued to wrap itself around his brain, unsure where to start. What the hell is going on?

"What's happened?" He began to formulate a question, but found it hard to speak. The little girl remained seated on his bed, her legs crossed Indian-style as she smiled at him knowingly. Her hair was a chestnut brown, long with a single braid swept over one shoulder. Her giant eyes resembled those of Alexis, the same ice blue hue. He couldn't place it, but she seemed familiar and judging by the soft smile on her face, she certainly knew him.

"Why are we here?" He finally asked, looking again at the people in the room. It didn't go beyond his notice that Martha, Jim and Alexis failed to respond to him. It was as if they didn't know he was awake and sitting up.

The little girl smiled widely, seemingly glad to have someone to speak with. "I wondered when you would wake up. It was getting boring in here." Her voice was sweet and somewhat teasing.

Castle turned to face Beckett again.

"Kate?" He asked, worry filling him.

"She's ok. She's busy right now." The little girl responded.

Again, he simply stared at her. He certainly did not want to be rude or hurt the girl's feelings, but he had no idea who she was. Is she with Jim? He wondered to himself.

Castle stepped out of his bed and made his way to Kate's sleeping form. Aside from her unconsciousness, she didn't appear to be injured at all. The woman with Kate didn't acknowledge Rick, but smiled conspiratorially to the little girl in the room before returning her attention to Kate.

"Is she going to be ok?" Rick took her hand, kissing the back of it softly. He couldn't fathom another day without her and the fear in his voice couldn't be disguised.

He felt a small hand join his, little fingers wrapping around his larger ones. It filled him with a sense of peace. "She's ok. She's just taking some time to figure things out."

"What happened?" He asked the child as she joined him at Kate's bedside, her hand remaining in his own.

The girl shrugged her shoulders, 'You had an accident, I suppose."

Castle desperately tried to remember. He wracked his brain for some indicator of what landed them in this place. Still no recollection of an accident, but he had flashes of memory. He could hear Kate's voice in his head.

"How can you have no feelings about it, Castle? I'm not asking that you pine after your long-lost father here. I'm just asking that you open up to me. How can you expect me to be completely open and honest with you and yet share so little about yourself? What kind of relationship is that for either one of us?"

Ah-yes. Castle thought to himself. The same argument that he and Kate had been having since Meredith's visit. It always amazed him how his ex-wife could stroll into his life for such a short amount of time and yet cause so much damage.

The damage she'd caused was indeed severe. He recalled that he and Kate had been fighting again, and that it had gotten so bad that she'd given him back his key-and taken back hers too. In fact, they'd decided to take a break. Wrapping one last case up before Castle stepped away. He was hit with the heartbreak once again as he thought of it. Turning to his loved ones once more, he contemplated his current situation. They all remained impassive.

"Why can't they hear or see me?" He asked, looking at Alexis' still sleeping form.

"Because you're sleeping, silly." The little girl replied as if he'd asked the oddest question in the world.

Castle turned to her, confusion evident on his face. It was at that moment that he saw where she'd been sitting. The sight of his bed sent a chill through his spine. His mouth fell open with disbelief because in the hospital bed, he saw himself.

There he was, laying unconscious. Richard Castle was currently looking at his own sleeping form.

"What the? How is this possible?" He asked, disbelief in his voice.

"Your brain is sleeping right now so you came to visit me." The little girl informed him happily.

"Who are you?" He asked the child.

She simply giggled to herself as if he'd told her a funny joke, motioning back to Kate before speaking.

"Sometimes we want our mommies and daddies when we're in the in-between place."

Castle looked down at Kate once again, wanting to be with her and to hear her voice, wanting to know that she was ok. The strange but familiar woman continued to hold Kate as the child's words echoed through his mind again "sometimes we want our mommies and daddies." The realization of what the girl meant dawned on him as he watched the older woman continue to stroke Beckett's brow.

He was at a loss for words, filled with such a powerful sense of disbelief and awe. Castle didn't know how it was possible, but there he was-watching Kate's deceased mother as she gently cradled her daughter's body in her arms.

"Johanna." It hit him as her name left his lips. He was filled with awe and terror; awe that he was witnessing this moment and fear of what it might mean. If she was here did it mean he was losing Kate? Nothing made sense. As if reading his mind, the woman finally spoke.

"She's fine Richard. She's just a little busy right now trying to figure some things out." Johanna's eyes never left her daughter as she spoke, her fingers calmly stroking Kate's brow.

Castle felt himself at a complete loss. "I'm so very sorry." He spoke.

He wasn't sure what he was sorry for, and he couldn't seem to figure it out as he thought about it. I'm sorry you were killed? I'm sorry you didn't get to see Kate turn into the amazing person she is? I'm sorry your killer still has not been brought to justice? I'm sorry I couldn't keep Kate safe as she pursued him? I'm sorry I couldn't keep her safe now?

As if reading his thoughts once again, she spoke,

"It isn't your fault she's here. You have been wonderful. You've helped bring her to life again." She continued cradling her daughter, speaking to Rick or to nobody in particular, " you have brought her so much comfort and support. I've been waiting for such a long time, been waiting for you to find one another. I've been waiting for my Katie to let you in."

The crux of their fight hit Castle full force. In the face of Johanna's comment, the irony of how they'd left things with their relationship was not lost on him. They'd fought. It was ugly. She'd accused him of being closed off and he'd used the fact that she still hadn't admitted her love as a weapon. He'd even accused her of not loving him at all.

He didn't find it especially necessary to recount their fight and dispute Johanna's last comment, although the fact that he doubted Kate still weighed heavy on his heart. The reality that they might be over hit him harder.

"I never said it would be easy." Johanna spoke, as if to Kate. A moment later she leaned back down and began to whisper into her daughter's ears. Rick observed for a few moments, but it soon became evident that Johanna was not going to address him again. It was as if she'd zoned out and gone to a place where Rick couldn't follow.

Castle felt a light squeeze on his fingers. "She's busy again." The little girl chimed in, alerting Castle to the fact that Johanna Beckett was no longer a part of their conversation. She pushed him back to his bed, "You're going to have to wake up soon."

"I'm sorry, I don't know your name." Castle spoke softly to the child, "and I'm not sure you're supposed to be here." She smiled at him again, climbing back onto the bed before pulling him to sit.

"I'm your Grace and I'm supposed to be right here, silly. But you've got to go now. You can't wait." She shoved him hard onto the bed, pushing him backwards as she urged him "It's time to wake up daddy."

"What?" He yelped as her words filled him with shock. "What did you call me?" He felt himself spiraling back, the room dimming and filling him with a floating sensation. The last thing he remembered was those bright blue eyes staring insistently down at him, her chestnut braid hanging over her shoulder.

"Grace." He muttered her name, and soon he was surrounded by darkness.

"Chances are they never knew."

Lanie Parish spoke sadly as she looked back and forth between the beds, currently occupied by the unconscious forms of two of her close friends. They were all gathered in the hospital room. Lanie had been able to pull strings to have visiting hours overlooked and Castle's estate was wealthy enough that Martha had been able to use his clout to guarantee that the couple was together.

The accident came suddenly and unexpected. A call alerting Alexis first, along with Jim Beckett and Martha. The facts surrounding the accident came in pieces.

They'd been upstate, returning to the city after seeing that a suspect was safely behind bars in the Catskills. It was evident that Kate had been driving, that the roads had been icy, and that the driver of the vehicle that had struck them was well over the legal limit of intoxication.

The boys had been furious, but used the accident to argue their belief that the couple would pull through. Afterall, you didn't survive what these two had been through to lose your life to a drunk driver. It just didn't happen. This was not how their story was to end.

Alexis wiped tears from her eyes once again, squeezing tight to Martha's hand as the two silently communicated. Everyone was at a loss and when it came down to it, the only one with the power to make any decision was Jim Beckett. They still couldn't believe what they'd been told.

A basic examination of Kate upon arrival had alerted the doctors to the fact that Kate was expecting.

She'd been pregnant. Kate Beckett was pregnant and not a single person knew about it. Lanie had doubts that Kate had known. Now the decision had to be made. Kate was comatose, and a baby was involved. As her medical proxy, the decision to proceed with the pregnancy came to Kate's father.

So they sat and waited. Castle's outlook was decidedly more optimistic than Kate's. He'd been placed in a medically-induced coma for the first few days to be on the safe side while some swelling reduced, but was due to come out of it at as drugs had been discontinued.

Kate, on the other hand was in another type of coma. With a direct hit to her head in the collision, there was uncertainty regarding whether or not she would ever wake. The doctors were less than optimistic about her condition, and urged the family to consider terminating the pregnancy. The stress to Kate's body was simply too great.

"However," the doctor informed them "there are cases where the mother carried the infant to full term-only to emerge from the coma after giving birth." Only a few cases had been reported, but there was precedence.

So the decision fell to Jim Beckett. Rick and Kate were not married, and given that Castle was unable to act on her behalf, her father was left with a terrible decision.

"I can't make this decision alone." He pleaded with Martha and Alexis. Lanie stood and crossed the room, making her way to Castle's sleeping form.

"You both have as much of a say in this as I do." Jim continued, "This is my daughter, my only daughter. But this is also my grandchild." He turned to Martha before he added, "our grandchild."

"What would Katie want? What would Rick want?" He asked.

"You may be able to ask him yourself." Came Lanie's amazed voice. They all looked to her as she stood over Castle's bed. Their eyes settled on him as his voice cracked and he muttered the same word again and again.

"Grace."

Yep… I read an article about a woman who at 2 months pregnant was in an accident. She remained comatose and carried the infant to full term. After giving birth via cesarean, something in her body 'clicked' and she woke up… see where I'm going with this? She literally woke up to meet her infant…imagine the aftermath? What a plot...