Always with you - Chapter 11
Title: Always with you
Fandom/Genre: Supernatural AU/Romance
Pairing(s): Dean/Castiel, Chuck/Becky, Sam/Sarah
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 46400
Warnings: some angst, mentions of violence, implied character death (disappearance)
Previous chapter: Chapter 10
Chapter eleven - Given and denied
“Hey guys! Dean! Castiel! Hello, is someone even awake?!” Becky yelled, repeatedly hitting the door with her fist. She’d been doing the same for minutes now, but so far no one had answered her, and that was frustrating her. Eventually she got bored of it, and turned to leave, but then she heard the door opening.
“What the hell, Becky? Keep your voice down! It’s early-as-fuck thirty in the freaking morning, are you insane?” Dean shouted at her, his volume not an inch lower than hers. He looked like he was just woken from sleep, which was probably true.
“Dean, just so you know: You’re not that silent either,” Castiel mumbled, and he wrapped his arms around Dean’s stomach, letting his head rest on Dean’s shoulder. Both men were heavy-lidded, still halfway asleep, wearing t-shirts with sweatpants, and they were sporting the two most adorable bedheads Becky had ever seen.
“They found Tyler!” Becky announced with a happy shriek, and that woke the men right up.
“That’s great. But how? Is she okay?” Dean asked, worry evident in his voice.
“She’s fine, considering. She has quite a few cuts and bruises, and she’s traumatized, but other than that, she’s okay. They have no idea how she got away, because what she said can’t possibly be true.”
“Why, what did she say?” This time it was Castiel who spoke. Dean turned his head to look at his lover, and a single glance was enough for him to know how Castiel felt. Soothingly he entwined their fingers, and Castiel pressed his body closer to Dean’s.
“I haven’t talked to her yet, but Susan did, and Tyler told her that he let her go, because she wouldn’t scream anymore. But, that’s… insane.”
“Someone who kidnaps kids can’t possibly be sane anyway,” Dean remarked. “So it’s definitely a he?”
“According to Susan, Tyler said he has a creepy, raspy, sing-song-y voice. She also said he’s tall and thin, but she didn’t see anything else.”
“I hope they’ll catch the bastard. And I want to be the one putting him behind bars for the rest of his fucked up life,” Castiel gritted through his teeth. Dean and Becky stared in surprise at him, they had never heard Castiel curse before.
“I’m going to go and see her in the morning,” Becky said.
“I’d like to go with you, if it’s okay with you,” Castiel offered, and Becky nodded.
“Of course. I won’t leave before eight anyway, so you can go back and get some more sleep. Or do something entirely else.” She winked, and
before any one of them could have scolded her for being… well, Becky, she left.
~.~.~.~.~.~The heat of the summer was slowly fading. At some point Dean stopped expecting his love with Castiel to fade too. Even though they hit their lows, they also climbed quite a few highs, and while it still felt too good to be true, but at least he wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop, not anymore. He was enjoying every little piece of happiness he got, without thinking about the future. Castiel and Sam opened their office on the first week of August, and when word got out that Castiel was back in business, they got swamped with offers almost instantly. This time Castiel did a better job on which case to accept though. On the twentieth of August, they celebrated Castiel’s birthday with a garden party. Dean bought him a horse, a black mare by the name Emmaline, and just like with Gigette back then, it was love at first sniff.
As the days got shorter, and the weather colder, the horses could spend less and less time in the pen, which meant that Dean’s workdays were shortening too. Ben didn’t need a teacher anymore, and Tyler’s horse therapy was going well too. Slowly but surely she was able to get through the aftereffects of her kidnapping, though Dean had to admit that in her case Castiel was a much bigger help than him, or the horses. September passed by quickly, and before they knew, it was already the middle of October. Dean and Castiel still spent a lot of time - almost every evening - by the little pond, walking around it or just watching the water. The fourteenth of October seemed to be just like any other day. After Castiel arrived home from work, he and Dean went for a walk to the small lake to spend some time together before Dean had to go back, feed the horses and let them into the stable for the night.
“You look like a flasher in that outfit,” Dean commented pointing at the tan trenchcoat Castiel was wearing over his black suit. “Like a really hot flasher, but a flasher nonetheless.”
“I think I’ll just take that as a compliment. Otherwise I may be offended,” Castiel announced after some thinking.
“That’s how it was meant. Well, at least half of it,” Dean shrugged, and he sat down onto the lakeshore. Castiel followed his example, and snuggled up against Dean. In his haste to get as close to Dean as he could he tipped Dean out of balance and both of them ended up lying on their backs. “You’re so amazingly graceful sometimes…” Dean muttered sarcastically. Instead of answering, Castiel pushed himself closer to Dean, and let his head rest on his lover’s chest, fingertips tapping on his leather jacket. They were lying there silently for long minutes, deep in thoughts. After a while Dean decided that every moment was just as good as any other moment to say what was on his mind, so he spoke up.
“Hey, Cas.”
“Yes, Dean?” Castiel asked, lifting his head from Dean’s chest.
“Maybe I am rushing it, maybe I’m not, but I just have to ask. Technically you’re living with me already anyway, so… do you want to officially move in with me? You know, I mean the changing addresses - moving all your stuff into my house - maybe buy another dresser for your clothes kinda moving,” Dean gabbled, shyly blushing a little. Castiel’s breath hitched, and for a moment he looked scared halfway to death, before he crushed his mouth against Dean’s in a clumsy, sloppy, yet oh-so-good kiss.
“Of course I want to. I’m a little surprised you asked, but yes, I want to.” He said when they parted, and he flashed his brightest smile at his lover.
“Good, because I already made a copy of the key for you, and I even emptied half of the closet. But I still think we’ll need to buy something else just for your stuff, you have enough clothes to fill a small store!” He grinned sheepishly, and then he turned them over, so he was on top, with Castiel sprawled underneath him on the grass. “C’mon angel, let’s head back home,” Dean whispered against Castiel’s mouth, before stealing a short kiss from those sweet lips.
“The things I want to do to you...” Castiel answered, voice rough with lust.
“You can show me really soon. At home.” Dean waggled his eyebrows suggestively, stood up, and pulled his lover to his feet. He wanted to get back home as soon as possible, but Castiel’s plump, cherry-red lips made it almost impossible for him to part from them, so he surged forward for another kiss, which in turn led to another one, and then a third one, followed by a forth and a fifth. Even though they’d been a couple for months now, kissing Castiel still felt just as good as it did the first time, only he managed to get more and more addicted to it with every touch of their lips. They were breathless by the time they parted, and in that moment Dean wanted nothing more than continuing right there and then, but he knew it wouldn’t be such a great idea, as it was getting really cold. Sighing loudly, he pulled away from Castiel, took his hand and started pulling him towards the house… their house, he corrected himself. They stopped halfway for a few more kisses, not being able to keep themselves from each other for long. By the time they reached the gate of the Shurley estate, they were almost running, the lust cruising through their veins making them quicken the pace.
In the driveway of the main house, a blood-covered man in torn, black clothes did his best to open the door of Chuck’s pickup truck, while another man kept watch to make sure no-one would disturb them. Soon the lock gave in, but before they could get into the car, they were interrupted by loud laughter, sounding nearer and nearer every second. The men looked at each other, both of them pulling out a gun, and hid behind the car. Dean and Castiel didn’t notice them, until it was too late, and both of them had the barrel of a gun in their backs. They pulled them a little farther apart from each other.
“Don’t fucking move,” the man holding Dean captive hissed.
“One move, or one sound, and the head of your pretty boyfriend will have one more hole in it,” the other one continued, even though it was completely unnecessary. Both Castiel and Dean were frozen to the spot, terror paralyzing them. Dean felt the press of the gun in his back, he knew that if he turned around, he could bring his attacker out of balance, knocking the barrel aside, but the other man could shoot Castiel the moment he started moving, so he stayed put. Dean looked at Castiel through the tears of shock suddenly flooding his eyes, and he felt rather than saw Castiel looking back at him.
“You guys are now coming with us, for leverage over the police in case they find us,” one of the men announced, and he started pushing Dean towards the car, but Castiel’s voice stopped him.
“Please, let him go,” he whispered, and Dean’s heart stopped for a moment. “Let him go, and I’ll go with you, without you having to force me. Take me, just let him go.”
“Cas, NO!” Dean yelled, but the man behind him hit him in the head with the gun.
“Shut up,” he gritted through clenched teeth, but Dean just continued anyway.
“Cas, don’t. I…” He said, but he got hit again, this time hard enough to break the skin on his temple, blood slowly trickling down his face.
“You heard what he said: Shut the fuck up!” The other man interjected, and he let go of Castiel, positioning himself so that he could catch him if he started running. “Okay, offer accepted. Get into the fucking car, and I’ll let your boyfriend go.” Castiel nodded, and he started walking towards the car. When he got near enough to Dean, he slowly reached out, and pulled him close. For a moment the men looked like they were going to attack them, but when they saw Castiel leaning close to his lover, they let him be.
“I love you,” Castiel whispered, and he kissed Dean. The kiss tasted foul, bitter… It wasn’t a see-you-later kiss, it was a goodbye-I-may-never-see-you-again kiss, and Dean silently begged his lover not to go.
“I love you too,” Dean choked out. “Be careful, and come back to me, okay?” He asked, even though he was almost certain that he was never going to see Castiel again. He contemplated climbing into the car with him, but he knew nothing good would come out of that.
“Okay, lovebirds, that’s more than enough now. Move!” One of the men ordered, and Castiel obeyed, as he promised he would. He knew it was risky, he couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t drag Dean along even though they promised not to, but he couldn’t stand the thought of Dean being held captive for a second longer, not if he could do something to prevent it. To his biggest relief, the men really did let Dean go after he climbed into the backseat of the car, and he turned around to look at him, as they drove off. One of the men still held him at gunpoint, but he wasn’t going to do anything. At least not now. Not until they left the estate. After he was let go, Dean stood rooted to the ground for almost a minute, before he could move again.
“You stupid self-sacrificing bastard!” He yelled, needing all of his strength to keep himself from sobbing. At his yell, Becky ran out of the house. “Becky, call the fucking police, Cas was taken by two men. They don’t seem to be too smart, but who knows what they’re planning. They’re driving Chuck’s truck, and as far as I could see, they turned north, towards the bay,” he instructed as he started running for his car. He heard Becky’s scream and then Chuck’s voice yelling something after him, but he didn’t stop. A few seconds later he was already behind the wheel of his Impala, and he shot out of the garage. The rear of the car drifted a little on the gravel before Dean could get her back under control. The Impala hurtled past the main house, then the gate, and he took a right turn, intent on following the stolen car with his lover in it. It didn’t take him more than a minute to catch up with it, it was whizzing along at a speed Dean didn’t think Chuck’s pickup was even capable of, and he had some difficulties with keeping up, especially because he tried to fish out his cell phone to call the police, just in case Becky forgot to mention any important information to them. He managed to find the device, and held it securely between his cheek and shoulder after dialing. After the third ring, a nice female voice answered, but Dean interrupted her.
“I’m Dean Winchester, and I’m currently following a stolen vehicle heading north, towards the bay on Highway 14, we just passed milestone 40, I think. The car’s a four-door Nissan Frontier, silver and a little beat up. Two armed men are occupying it, they took my partner hostage.”
“We are aware of the situation, Sir. Please, don’t go near the vehicle, for the sake of your safety. Three cars are on their way, estimated time of arrival in three minutes. Those men are extremely dangerous, even though they don’t look like it,” the dispatcher answered, sounding actually concerned. “Sir, did you hear what I said?” she asked, but Dean only growled at that, and ended the call. He fixed his stare at Castiel’s head through the windshield, and he maintained a comfortable distance between the Nissan and the Impala, trying to stay unnoticed. At first, it didn’t seem that hard, the road was full of sharp turns, but then they reached the bay, water glistening in the late fall sunlight, waves breaking on sharp rocks quite a few feet under the level of the highway. The road there was straight for quite a while, and Dean saw the man in the backseat turning around. He looking straight at him, and Dean knew that was the end of going unnoticed. The Impala swerved on the road as he jerked at her wheel, desperately trying not to get shot by the man leaning out of the truck. The first shot missed, but the second went right into the middle of the Impala’s windshield, shattering it, thus making it impossible for Dean to see anything. Without thinking he reached for the lucky horseshoe he kept in the glove compartment, and used it to knock the broken windshield out of its place. By the time he managed it, the only thing he could see was the truck breaking through the barrier, and disappearing from sight. Screaming, he put the brake pedal to the metal, bringing the car to an instant halt, and got out of it. He heard a deafeningly loud crash, and he knew it was made by the truck hitting the rocks. He ran to the edge, and reached it just in time to see the vehicle go up in huge flames.
“NOOOOOOO!” He yelled, tears filling his eyes. He sank to the ground, pulled his knees up to his chest, and just stared at the burning remains of the truck, mumbling incoherently to himself. The flames were biting at the metal of the car like rabid dogs, tearing it apart piece by piece.
Sirens were wailing faintly in the distance, and the three police cars arrived approximately two minutes later. A young, blonde female officer got out of one of the cars. She looked around, barked a few instructions at the members of her team, and walked up to Dean.
“Sir, are you okay?” She asked, even though she could clearly see that he was not okay. “I’m Sergeant Ruby McBridge. You must be Dean Winchester. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I’m… I’m not sure.” Dean rasped. “I tried to follow them from a distance, but they noticed me, shot at me, and… they ended up in the water somehow. It’s my fault, it’s all my fault.”
“Mr. Winchester, it can’t possibly be your fault,” she assured him, even though she knew it was all in vain, he would blame himself anyway, no matter what she said. “The accident unit and a medical car will arrive shortly. Is there anything we can do for you? Do you need us to call someone?” She inquired, voice full of sympathy.
“No, thanks. I’ll get my shit together myself, I just need a minute.”
“Your head is bleeding pretty badly. A paramedic will take a look at it, as soon as they arrive.”
“It’s not necessary… I just want to be left alone,” Dean mumbled, and even though the police officer obviously didn’t agree with him, she didn’t start arguing.
“Let me know if you need anything.” she nodded, and walked away. “Come on people, don’t just stand around there, for fuck’s sake!” she yelled at her team, “We can’t do much until the unit arrives, but someone should seal off the perimeter. Oh, and call the bay guards already, we need to know what’s going on down there.”
Dean tried to shut her voice out of his head, but her instructions were yelled way too loud for that. After what seemed like an eternity, the accident unit arrived with a fire-engine and an ambulance in tow, and that snapped Dean out of his reverie. He stood up, walked up to his car and sank onto the dark leather seat. He was fighting his tears, and for now, he was winning, but it didn’t make him feel any better. He picked up his phone from where it fell when he dropped it, and called Becky.
After that, it was all a blur. He couldn’t really see, couldn’t think. He moved, when he was asked to, but other than that, he didn’t register anything from the happenings around him. It got a little better when he felt the familiar scent of his house, but it only lasted for a moment, and when that moment passed it got even worse. Without being prompted to do so, he walked up to his room, and laid down on his bed, staring out into the purplish twilight. The sheets smelled like Castiel, and that made Dean furious. He got up, and swept them all down onto the floor before repeatedly kicking them.
“Chuck, what is he doing?” Becky asked worriedly, trying to peek through the half-opened door and over her boyfriend’s shoulder.
“Venting his anger. I think we should leave him alone for a while. Sam will arrive soon, maybe he’ll know how to deal with Dean when he’s
like this,” Chuck answered, and he closed the door.
~.~.~.~.~.~A few hours later Sam walked down the stairs coming from Dean’s bedroom, an expression of the purest despair on his face.
“How is he?” Becky asked, holding Chuck’s hands tightly in hers.
“He’s… It’s bad. He won’t move, let alone talk, won’t eat or drink. He’s just laying there on his bed, staring through the window. He’s grieving.”
“But there’s still some hope. It’s not sure Castiel is dead. I mean, they haven’t found him yet,” Sarah said, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
“I know, and I’m sure he knows it too, he’s just trying not to grasp at straws,” Sam answered, and he wrapped his arms around his
fiancée. “This is so not what was supposed to happen tonight,” he whispered, sinking down onto the couch and pulling Sarah with him. “Dean said he was going to ask Castiel to move in with him, and we were going to tell him that we’re engaged, it was supposed to be a fun night…”
“Please, stop torturing yourself. And us,” Sarah chided him gently. “He’ll get through this somehow, I’m sure.”
“It’s not the end result that has me worried, it’s the way leading to it,” Sam shook his head.
Silence filled the room, everyone was just sitting there, deep in thoughts. Dean’s phone was lying forgotten on the coffee table where Chuck put it after he pried it out of Dean’s cramped hand, and it startled everyone when it started ringing. Sarah was the first to move, she grabbed it and ran up the stairs to bring it to Dean. She held it out for him to take it, but he didn’t move, so Sarah decided to pick it up.
“Hello?”
“Good evening, I’m Sergeant Ruby McBridge, and I’m looking for Dean Winchester.”
“I’m Sarah, his brother’s fiancée. He can’t come to the phone now. Can I help you?”
“There are a few recent developments in the case of the accident Dean witnessed. I would really appreciate it if I could come over and update him in person.”
“I am not sure he is in the right condition for that, but by all means, please come over,” Sarah answered after some thinking, and she rattled off the address to the police officer. She arrived barely ten minutes later, carrying a beige coat on her arm. Sam jumped up from his seat to greet her.
“Long time no see.” She smiled tiredly at him. Sarah shot a questioning look at her, then at her fiancée.
“I wish it wasn’t under these circumstances,” Sam muttered, and when he noticed the jealous expression on Sarah’s face, he began explaining. “Before I started working with Castiel, usually I was the one who had to go to the police and copy the files needed for our cases. And I ran into Ruby almost every time.”
“No surprise, seeing how those files you needed were made by me in ninety-nine percent of the cases.” Ruby tilted her head, and leaned against the wall, looking around in the room. “I guess you want to know about those recent developments too, right?” She asked, and when everyone nodded, she continued. “We found two bodies in the car wreck. One of them was shot pre-mortem, at least that was the opinion of the medical examiner. It probably killed him. The other, well… I don’t know how to put it nicely. He was burned alive when the car exploded. Honestly, probably the crash alone would have been bad enough to kill a person. Their bones were almost shattered by the force of it, they wouldn’t have survived it either way. Both persons were male, early forties.”
“Early forties?” Becky echoed. “Castiel was only 36.”
“We are aware of that. As I was saying, we found two bodies only. We didn’t have time to examine dental records yet, but we are pretty sure that those two were the kidnappers. We also found this.” She lifted her hand with the coat in it.
“That’s Castiel’s,” Dean said. No one had even noticed he was there. “He was wearing that coat, and I was teasing him that he looked like a flasher in it.”
“We found it hanging from a rock, halfway between the edge of the road and the car. If I had to guess, I’d say the person wearing it jumped out from the car, possibly shortly after the vehicle began falling.”
“So, you think Castiel wasn’t in the car anymore when it exploded?”
“That’s what I think, yes. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be any evidence proving otherwise, even less that it’s true, but that’s what the signs we found point towards.” Ruby explained, and held out the coat towards Dean, “You can take it, if you want it. We have already examined it, there is nothing on it we could use.”
“Thanks.” Dean nodded, and took the coat. “Is there any chance he is still alive?” he asked quietly.
“There might be a tiny chance, but even if he did jump out of the car before it crashed against the rocks, he must have fallen down, just like the vehicle did. There is nothing we know for certain. Maybe he was lucky, and survived it. I know it’s hard, but… maybes are not something I would base any hopes upon.” She shook her head. “We keep searching for him, but that is the only promise I can make.”
“I… I understand,” Dean said, and he went back into his room, with Castiel’s trenchcoat clutched tightly to his chest.
Next chapter: Chapter 12
Fandom/Genre: Supernatural AU/Romance
Pairing(s): Dean/Castiel, Chuck/Becky, Sam/Sarah
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 46400
Warnings: some angst, mentions of violence, implied character death (disappearance)
Previous chapter: Chapter 10
Chapter eleven - Given and denied
“Hey guys! Dean! Castiel! Hello, is someone even awake?!” Becky yelled, repeatedly hitting the door with her fist. She’d been doing the same for minutes now, but so far no one had answered her, and that was frustrating her. Eventually she got bored of it, and turned to leave, but then she heard the door opening.
“What the hell, Becky? Keep your voice down! It’s early-as-fuck thirty in the freaking morning, are you insane?” Dean shouted at her, his volume not an inch lower than hers. He looked like he was just woken from sleep, which was probably true.
“Dean, just so you know: You’re not that silent either,” Castiel mumbled, and he wrapped his arms around Dean’s stomach, letting his head rest on Dean’s shoulder. Both men were heavy-lidded, still halfway asleep, wearing t-shirts with sweatpants, and they were sporting the two most adorable bedheads Becky had ever seen.
“They found Tyler!” Becky announced with a happy shriek, and that woke the men right up.
“That’s great. But how? Is she okay?” Dean asked, worry evident in his voice.
“She’s fine, considering. She has quite a few cuts and bruises, and she’s traumatized, but other than that, she’s okay. They have no idea how she got away, because what she said can’t possibly be true.”
“Why, what did she say?” This time it was Castiel who spoke. Dean turned his head to look at his lover, and a single glance was enough for him to know how Castiel felt. Soothingly he entwined their fingers, and Castiel pressed his body closer to Dean’s.
“I haven’t talked to her yet, but Susan did, and Tyler told her that he let her go, because she wouldn’t scream anymore. But, that’s… insane.”
“Someone who kidnaps kids can’t possibly be sane anyway,” Dean remarked. “So it’s definitely a he?”
“According to Susan, Tyler said he has a creepy, raspy, sing-song-y voice. She also said he’s tall and thin, but she didn’t see anything else.”
“I hope they’ll catch the bastard. And I want to be the one putting him behind bars for the rest of his fucked up life,” Castiel gritted through his teeth. Dean and Becky stared in surprise at him, they had never heard Castiel curse before.
“I’m going to go and see her in the morning,” Becky said.
“I’d like to go with you, if it’s okay with you,” Castiel offered, and Becky nodded.
“Of course. I won’t leave before eight anyway, so you can go back and get some more sleep. Or do something entirely else.” She winked, and
before any one of them could have scolded her for being… well, Becky, she left.
~.~.~.~.~.~The heat of the summer was slowly fading. At some point Dean stopped expecting his love with Castiel to fade too. Even though they hit their lows, they also climbed quite a few highs, and while it still felt too good to be true, but at least he wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop, not anymore. He was enjoying every little piece of happiness he got, without thinking about the future. Castiel and Sam opened their office on the first week of August, and when word got out that Castiel was back in business, they got swamped with offers almost instantly. This time Castiel did a better job on which case to accept though. On the twentieth of August, they celebrated Castiel’s birthday with a garden party. Dean bought him a horse, a black mare by the name Emmaline, and just like with Gigette back then, it was love at first sniff.
As the days got shorter, and the weather colder, the horses could spend less and less time in the pen, which meant that Dean’s workdays were shortening too. Ben didn’t need a teacher anymore, and Tyler’s horse therapy was going well too. Slowly but surely she was able to get through the aftereffects of her kidnapping, though Dean had to admit that in her case Castiel was a much bigger help than him, or the horses. September passed by quickly, and before they knew, it was already the middle of October. Dean and Castiel still spent a lot of time - almost every evening - by the little pond, walking around it or just watching the water. The fourteenth of October seemed to be just like any other day. After Castiel arrived home from work, he and Dean went for a walk to the small lake to spend some time together before Dean had to go back, feed the horses and let them into the stable for the night.
“You look like a flasher in that outfit,” Dean commented pointing at the tan trenchcoat Castiel was wearing over his black suit. “Like a really hot flasher, but a flasher nonetheless.”
“I think I’ll just take that as a compliment. Otherwise I may be offended,” Castiel announced after some thinking.
“That’s how it was meant. Well, at least half of it,” Dean shrugged, and he sat down onto the lakeshore. Castiel followed his example, and snuggled up against Dean. In his haste to get as close to Dean as he could he tipped Dean out of balance and both of them ended up lying on their backs. “You’re so amazingly graceful sometimes…” Dean muttered sarcastically. Instead of answering, Castiel pushed himself closer to Dean, and let his head rest on his lover’s chest, fingertips tapping on his leather jacket. They were lying there silently for long minutes, deep in thoughts. After a while Dean decided that every moment was just as good as any other moment to say what was on his mind, so he spoke up.
“Hey, Cas.”
“Yes, Dean?” Castiel asked, lifting his head from Dean’s chest.
“Maybe I am rushing it, maybe I’m not, but I just have to ask. Technically you’re living with me already anyway, so… do you want to officially move in with me? You know, I mean the changing addresses - moving all your stuff into my house - maybe buy another dresser for your clothes kinda moving,” Dean gabbled, shyly blushing a little. Castiel’s breath hitched, and for a moment he looked scared halfway to death, before he crushed his mouth against Dean’s in a clumsy, sloppy, yet oh-so-good kiss.
“Of course I want to. I’m a little surprised you asked, but yes, I want to.” He said when they parted, and he flashed his brightest smile at his lover.
“Good, because I already made a copy of the key for you, and I even emptied half of the closet. But I still think we’ll need to buy something else just for your stuff, you have enough clothes to fill a small store!” He grinned sheepishly, and then he turned them over, so he was on top, with Castiel sprawled underneath him on the grass. “C’mon angel, let’s head back home,” Dean whispered against Castiel’s mouth, before stealing a short kiss from those sweet lips.
“The things I want to do to you...” Castiel answered, voice rough with lust.
“You can show me really soon. At home.” Dean waggled his eyebrows suggestively, stood up, and pulled his lover to his feet. He wanted to get back home as soon as possible, but Castiel’s plump, cherry-red lips made it almost impossible for him to part from them, so he surged forward for another kiss, which in turn led to another one, and then a third one, followed by a forth and a fifth. Even though they’d been a couple for months now, kissing Castiel still felt just as good as it did the first time, only he managed to get more and more addicted to it with every touch of their lips. They were breathless by the time they parted, and in that moment Dean wanted nothing more than continuing right there and then, but he knew it wouldn’t be such a great idea, as it was getting really cold. Sighing loudly, he pulled away from Castiel, took his hand and started pulling him towards the house… their house, he corrected himself. They stopped halfway for a few more kisses, not being able to keep themselves from each other for long. By the time they reached the gate of the Shurley estate, they were almost running, the lust cruising through their veins making them quicken the pace.
In the driveway of the main house, a blood-covered man in torn, black clothes did his best to open the door of Chuck’s pickup truck, while another man kept watch to make sure no-one would disturb them. Soon the lock gave in, but before they could get into the car, they were interrupted by loud laughter, sounding nearer and nearer every second. The men looked at each other, both of them pulling out a gun, and hid behind the car. Dean and Castiel didn’t notice them, until it was too late, and both of them had the barrel of a gun in their backs. They pulled them a little farther apart from each other.
“Don’t fucking move,” the man holding Dean captive hissed.
“One move, or one sound, and the head of your pretty boyfriend will have one more hole in it,” the other one continued, even though it was completely unnecessary. Both Castiel and Dean were frozen to the spot, terror paralyzing them. Dean felt the press of the gun in his back, he knew that if he turned around, he could bring his attacker out of balance, knocking the barrel aside, but the other man could shoot Castiel the moment he started moving, so he stayed put. Dean looked at Castiel through the tears of shock suddenly flooding his eyes, and he felt rather than saw Castiel looking back at him.
“You guys are now coming with us, for leverage over the police in case they find us,” one of the men announced, and he started pushing Dean towards the car, but Castiel’s voice stopped him.
“Please, let him go,” he whispered, and Dean’s heart stopped for a moment. “Let him go, and I’ll go with you, without you having to force me. Take me, just let him go.”
“Cas, NO!” Dean yelled, but the man behind him hit him in the head with the gun.
“Shut up,” he gritted through clenched teeth, but Dean just continued anyway.
“Cas, don’t. I…” He said, but he got hit again, this time hard enough to break the skin on his temple, blood slowly trickling down his face.
“You heard what he said: Shut the fuck up!” The other man interjected, and he let go of Castiel, positioning himself so that he could catch him if he started running. “Okay, offer accepted. Get into the fucking car, and I’ll let your boyfriend go.” Castiel nodded, and he started walking towards the car. When he got near enough to Dean, he slowly reached out, and pulled him close. For a moment the men looked like they were going to attack them, but when they saw Castiel leaning close to his lover, they let him be.
“I love you,” Castiel whispered, and he kissed Dean. The kiss tasted foul, bitter… It wasn’t a see-you-later kiss, it was a goodbye-I-may-never-see-you-again kiss, and Dean silently begged his lover not to go.
“I love you too,” Dean choked out. “Be careful, and come back to me, okay?” He asked, even though he was almost certain that he was never going to see Castiel again. He contemplated climbing into the car with him, but he knew nothing good would come out of that.
“Okay, lovebirds, that’s more than enough now. Move!” One of the men ordered, and Castiel obeyed, as he promised he would. He knew it was risky, he couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t drag Dean along even though they promised not to, but he couldn’t stand the thought of Dean being held captive for a second longer, not if he could do something to prevent it. To his biggest relief, the men really did let Dean go after he climbed into the backseat of the car, and he turned around to look at him, as they drove off. One of the men still held him at gunpoint, but he wasn’t going to do anything. At least not now. Not until they left the estate. After he was let go, Dean stood rooted to the ground for almost a minute, before he could move again.
“You stupid self-sacrificing bastard!” He yelled, needing all of his strength to keep himself from sobbing. At his yell, Becky ran out of the house. “Becky, call the fucking police, Cas was taken by two men. They don’t seem to be too smart, but who knows what they’re planning. They’re driving Chuck’s truck, and as far as I could see, they turned north, towards the bay,” he instructed as he started running for his car. He heard Becky’s scream and then Chuck’s voice yelling something after him, but he didn’t stop. A few seconds later he was already behind the wheel of his Impala, and he shot out of the garage. The rear of the car drifted a little on the gravel before Dean could get her back under control. The Impala hurtled past the main house, then the gate, and he took a right turn, intent on following the stolen car with his lover in it. It didn’t take him more than a minute to catch up with it, it was whizzing along at a speed Dean didn’t think Chuck’s pickup was even capable of, and he had some difficulties with keeping up, especially because he tried to fish out his cell phone to call the police, just in case Becky forgot to mention any important information to them. He managed to find the device, and held it securely between his cheek and shoulder after dialing. After the third ring, a nice female voice answered, but Dean interrupted her.
“I’m Dean Winchester, and I’m currently following a stolen vehicle heading north, towards the bay on Highway 14, we just passed milestone 40, I think. The car’s a four-door Nissan Frontier, silver and a little beat up. Two armed men are occupying it, they took my partner hostage.”
“We are aware of the situation, Sir. Please, don’t go near the vehicle, for the sake of your safety. Three cars are on their way, estimated time of arrival in three minutes. Those men are extremely dangerous, even though they don’t look like it,” the dispatcher answered, sounding actually concerned. “Sir, did you hear what I said?” she asked, but Dean only growled at that, and ended the call. He fixed his stare at Castiel’s head through the windshield, and he maintained a comfortable distance between the Nissan and the Impala, trying to stay unnoticed. At first, it didn’t seem that hard, the road was full of sharp turns, but then they reached the bay, water glistening in the late fall sunlight, waves breaking on sharp rocks quite a few feet under the level of the highway. The road there was straight for quite a while, and Dean saw the man in the backseat turning around. He looking straight at him, and Dean knew that was the end of going unnoticed. The Impala swerved on the road as he jerked at her wheel, desperately trying not to get shot by the man leaning out of the truck. The first shot missed, but the second went right into the middle of the Impala’s windshield, shattering it, thus making it impossible for Dean to see anything. Without thinking he reached for the lucky horseshoe he kept in the glove compartment, and used it to knock the broken windshield out of its place. By the time he managed it, the only thing he could see was the truck breaking through the barrier, and disappearing from sight. Screaming, he put the brake pedal to the metal, bringing the car to an instant halt, and got out of it. He heard a deafeningly loud crash, and he knew it was made by the truck hitting the rocks. He ran to the edge, and reached it just in time to see the vehicle go up in huge flames.
“NOOOOOOO!” He yelled, tears filling his eyes. He sank to the ground, pulled his knees up to his chest, and just stared at the burning remains of the truck, mumbling incoherently to himself. The flames were biting at the metal of the car like rabid dogs, tearing it apart piece by piece.
Sirens were wailing faintly in the distance, and the three police cars arrived approximately two minutes later. A young, blonde female officer got out of one of the cars. She looked around, barked a few instructions at the members of her team, and walked up to Dean.
“Sir, are you okay?” She asked, even though she could clearly see that he was not okay. “I’m Sergeant Ruby McBridge. You must be Dean Winchester. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I’m… I’m not sure.” Dean rasped. “I tried to follow them from a distance, but they noticed me, shot at me, and… they ended up in the water somehow. It’s my fault, it’s all my fault.”
“Mr. Winchester, it can’t possibly be your fault,” she assured him, even though she knew it was all in vain, he would blame himself anyway, no matter what she said. “The accident unit and a medical car will arrive shortly. Is there anything we can do for you? Do you need us to call someone?” She inquired, voice full of sympathy.
“No, thanks. I’ll get my shit together myself, I just need a minute.”
“Your head is bleeding pretty badly. A paramedic will take a look at it, as soon as they arrive.”
“It’s not necessary… I just want to be left alone,” Dean mumbled, and even though the police officer obviously didn’t agree with him, she didn’t start arguing.
“Let me know if you need anything.” she nodded, and walked away. “Come on people, don’t just stand around there, for fuck’s sake!” she yelled at her team, “We can’t do much until the unit arrives, but someone should seal off the perimeter. Oh, and call the bay guards already, we need to know what’s going on down there.”
Dean tried to shut her voice out of his head, but her instructions were yelled way too loud for that. After what seemed like an eternity, the accident unit arrived with a fire-engine and an ambulance in tow, and that snapped Dean out of his reverie. He stood up, walked up to his car and sank onto the dark leather seat. He was fighting his tears, and for now, he was winning, but it didn’t make him feel any better. He picked up his phone from where it fell when he dropped it, and called Becky.
After that, it was all a blur. He couldn’t really see, couldn’t think. He moved, when he was asked to, but other than that, he didn’t register anything from the happenings around him. It got a little better when he felt the familiar scent of his house, but it only lasted for a moment, and when that moment passed it got even worse. Without being prompted to do so, he walked up to his room, and laid down on his bed, staring out into the purplish twilight. The sheets smelled like Castiel, and that made Dean furious. He got up, and swept them all down onto the floor before repeatedly kicking them.
“Chuck, what is he doing?” Becky asked worriedly, trying to peek through the half-opened door and over her boyfriend’s shoulder.
“Venting his anger. I think we should leave him alone for a while. Sam will arrive soon, maybe he’ll know how to deal with Dean when he’s
like this,” Chuck answered, and he closed the door.
~.~.~.~.~.~A few hours later Sam walked down the stairs coming from Dean’s bedroom, an expression of the purest despair on his face.
“How is he?” Becky asked, holding Chuck’s hands tightly in hers.
“He’s… It’s bad. He won’t move, let alone talk, won’t eat or drink. He’s just laying there on his bed, staring through the window. He’s grieving.”
“But there’s still some hope. It’s not sure Castiel is dead. I mean, they haven’t found him yet,” Sarah said, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
“I know, and I’m sure he knows it too, he’s just trying not to grasp at straws,” Sam answered, and he wrapped his arms around his
fiancée. “This is so not what was supposed to happen tonight,” he whispered, sinking down onto the couch and pulling Sarah with him. “Dean said he was going to ask Castiel to move in with him, and we were going to tell him that we’re engaged, it was supposed to be a fun night…”
“Please, stop torturing yourself. And us,” Sarah chided him gently. “He’ll get through this somehow, I’m sure.”
“It’s not the end result that has me worried, it’s the way leading to it,” Sam shook his head.
Silence filled the room, everyone was just sitting there, deep in thoughts. Dean’s phone was lying forgotten on the coffee table where Chuck put it after he pried it out of Dean’s cramped hand, and it startled everyone when it started ringing. Sarah was the first to move, she grabbed it and ran up the stairs to bring it to Dean. She held it out for him to take it, but he didn’t move, so Sarah decided to pick it up.
“Hello?”
“Good evening, I’m Sergeant Ruby McBridge, and I’m looking for Dean Winchester.”
“I’m Sarah, his brother’s fiancée. He can’t come to the phone now. Can I help you?”
“There are a few recent developments in the case of the accident Dean witnessed. I would really appreciate it if I could come over and update him in person.”
“I am not sure he is in the right condition for that, but by all means, please come over,” Sarah answered after some thinking, and she rattled off the address to the police officer. She arrived barely ten minutes later, carrying a beige coat on her arm. Sam jumped up from his seat to greet her.
“Long time no see.” She smiled tiredly at him. Sarah shot a questioning look at her, then at her fiancée.
“I wish it wasn’t under these circumstances,” Sam muttered, and when he noticed the jealous expression on Sarah’s face, he began explaining. “Before I started working with Castiel, usually I was the one who had to go to the police and copy the files needed for our cases. And I ran into Ruby almost every time.”
“No surprise, seeing how those files you needed were made by me in ninety-nine percent of the cases.” Ruby tilted her head, and leaned against the wall, looking around in the room. “I guess you want to know about those recent developments too, right?” She asked, and when everyone nodded, she continued. “We found two bodies in the car wreck. One of them was shot pre-mortem, at least that was the opinion of the medical examiner. It probably killed him. The other, well… I don’t know how to put it nicely. He was burned alive when the car exploded. Honestly, probably the crash alone would have been bad enough to kill a person. Their bones were almost shattered by the force of it, they wouldn’t have survived it either way. Both persons were male, early forties.”
“Early forties?” Becky echoed. “Castiel was only 36.”
“We are aware of that. As I was saying, we found two bodies only. We didn’t have time to examine dental records yet, but we are pretty sure that those two were the kidnappers. We also found this.” She lifted her hand with the coat in it.
“That’s Castiel’s,” Dean said. No one had even noticed he was there. “He was wearing that coat, and I was teasing him that he looked like a flasher in it.”
“We found it hanging from a rock, halfway between the edge of the road and the car. If I had to guess, I’d say the person wearing it jumped out from the car, possibly shortly after the vehicle began falling.”
“So, you think Castiel wasn’t in the car anymore when it exploded?”
“That’s what I think, yes. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be any evidence proving otherwise, even less that it’s true, but that’s what the signs we found point towards.” Ruby explained, and held out the coat towards Dean, “You can take it, if you want it. We have already examined it, there is nothing on it we could use.”
“Thanks.” Dean nodded, and took the coat. “Is there any chance he is still alive?” he asked quietly.
“There might be a tiny chance, but even if he did jump out of the car before it crashed against the rocks, he must have fallen down, just like the vehicle did. There is nothing we know for certain. Maybe he was lucky, and survived it. I know it’s hard, but… maybes are not something I would base any hopes upon.” She shook her head. “We keep searching for him, but that is the only promise I can make.”
“I… I understand,” Dean said, and he went back into his room, with Castiel’s trenchcoat clutched tightly to his chest.
Next chapter: Chapter 12