Castiel kept his eyes stubbornly averted from the small cars that the big Sentinel had unexpectedly dumped onto the hardwood floor of the main living area in front of him before ruffling Cas's hair and grunting "Enjoy kid" as he walked off.
Cas had been in this place, their home, for five sleeps without his Elle. Five sleeps with the smiley loud Guide and the scowly quiet Sentinel but no Elle to cuddle, to grin at him, tickle him awake, brush his hair, tell him to wash his hands, play with him and teach him things.
He didn't like it. He wanted his Elle. He didn't want to play with their stupid toys even if there was a pretty black car that looked just like the one that other big grumpy Sentinel had been driving. The big grumpy Sentinel who had stolen his Elle from him and taken her away in that car.
Cas thought the Guide had called it a "pala". It was a pretty name, he liked the sound of it, but he wasn't going to play with it. Na huh. He wasn't.
Elle would laugh at him and say Castiel was in his grumpy socks and then pretend to steal his shoes so she could change his socks to the happy ones, and Cas would scrunch up his face to make it even more grumpy until she blew a raspberry on his forehead and that always made him laugh. When he laughed his Elle laughed too.
He wasn't going to laugh without his Elle. Na huh. He wasn't.
Stupid Smiley and Stupid Sentinel were really stupid if they thought they could make him like them cos of some stupid cars, and stupid big juicy burgers and stupid ice cream and the stupid colourful room under the stairs where his Bobby bear was sleeping on the stupid really bouncy bed and the stupid new clothes and the stupid soft pillow and the stupid big television that showed stupid cartoons and all the stupid books.
It was kinda amazing though cos he had never seen so many books in one place, 'cept for the big libraries that he and Elle sneaked into sometimes for somewhere warm and safe. Elle would always find a book they could read together in a quiet corner until one of the shouty people found them and told them to leave.
Gabrielle and Castiel were supposed to be together forever and ever and there was a big hurt in his chest because she wasn't with him. Elle always knew what to say to make him feel better.
He wanted to cry because there had been no "wake up messy head" kisses or "go to sleep sleepy head" kisses or "eat your breakfast before Bobby or Elle steals it" kisses or the surprise "Love you" kisses all over his face when she had her fierce scary face on. The one where she promised that she would never let anything hurt him, "Never Castiel you hear me?"
But worst of all there were none of his very favouritest kisses, the giggly kisses cos he was "the cutest little angel brother ever", even if he had to use his scowly face to remind her that he was a big boy and big boys weren't supposed to be cute.
But he wasn't gonna cry. Na huh he wasn't.
His Gabrielle always made things better.
This stupid place wouldn't be so stupid if his Elle was with him. It wouldn't be stupid at all. It would be perfect with his Elle. But it didn't matter. They had sent his Elle away. He was never gonna like them. Na huh, he wasn't.
He was so mad at them. He wanted to be naughty all the time but he had promised Elle to be good and he would keep that promise. But there lots of things he could do that weren't exactly bad. Not the bad that Elle meant anyway.
The Guide wanted Cas to call him Uncle Blair but Cas wouldn't. The really big one with the muscles and the no-smiles was supposed to be called Uncle Jim. But the big one had rolled his eyes when the Guide had called him that, so Cas knew that it wasn't the big one's idea.
Then Cas had a brilliant super sneaky idea to annoy them both and he had to hide behind the sofa to smile about it. He would call the Stupid Sentinel "Uncle" and call Stupid Smiley "Guide". They would both hate that and it served them right for taking him away from his Elle.
Cas's nose twitched. He could smell that stinky drink the two men both liked so much. Coffee, they were drinking their coffee in the kitchen and talking to each other. Cas looked back at the little cars. His eyes widened when he saw that some of them even had little people inside. He bit his lip. It wouldn't hurt to just look at them would it?
Elle said wanting to know things was really how kids got to learn and she was so proud of him when he learnt something new.
He kept glancing at the cars especially the black one which was really pretty, but it didn't have any little people. He could pretend that his Elle was in there, driving back to him. Without the grumpy faced Sentinel. That horrible Elle-thief should leave them alone forever cos if he didn't, Cas was gonna find a way to make him cry so there.
His fascination grew when the little doors opened as he nudged it gently. He wondered if the wheels turned so it would move on the floor. He picked it up slowly and carefully to see and then when his finger spun the little wheels he wondered how fast it could go. P'haps he should try to race it against one of the other little cars? As a 'speriment? He and Elle did lots of 'speriments to find out things.
And then he could tell Elle all about it when she came to rescue him. Without that nasty Elle-thief. Because the only thing that made Castiel happy right now was knowing his Elle would come for him.
Castiel didn't notice the two adults watching him from the kitchen entrance. "Poor little guy" Blair commiserated but his amusement shone in his blue eyes. Ellison snorted softly, equally amused but his "Stubborn little brat" had more of admiration than admonishment.
Raphael was in Michael's office, staring with abstraction out of the enormous picture window at the great snow-capped mountains bordering the Host clan territory. The mountains had sheltered their Sanctuary since the time of the Great Upheaval and were a familiar well-loved back drop to the Host's daily lives. They didn't normally attract the kind of attention Raphael was paying them which caused his elder brother some slight exasperated amusement when the Alpha Prime Sentinel leader of the Host Clan finally arrived and sank into the leather chair behind his desk with a tiny tired sigh.
Typical Raphael behaviour, he summoned his sentinel brothers because of some urgent need then promptly forgot all about them because he had already dealt with the problem.
However Raphael would usually at least react to his brother's presence with a gruff snort.
Oddly Raphael had made no move at the sound of Michael's entrance, his gaze was fixed on the spectacular view. A frown began to crease Michael's forehead.
If Raphael had been a sentinel Michael would have worried that he was zoning. But Raphael was a guide, Raphael was the Guide, the clan Guide. He was the strongest guide the Clan had ever produced. They weren't sure that even Michael's potential guide would have Raphael's level of current strength, and he wasn't bonded yet either.
Lucifer had always mockingly claimed that the children of Charles and Naomi D'Angelo were over achievers but the Host clan sentinels and guides had always been known as much for their desire for privacy as their strength. It seemed likely that Raphael would retain his position as Clan Guide despite other claimants to the post. They would just deal with the fallout when it happened.
Michael leant back in his chair as he studied his brother. He could see the tension in the guide's shoulders, the way his hands were clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
The sharp shriek of an angry and distressed bird of prey startled him for a second and forced his gaze outward instead of contemplating his brother. What he saw concerned him even more. What the hell was wrong? That was Raphael's spirit animal. No one had seen Tobias since Naomi's death, when their world had crumbled to dust around them.
"Rafe" Michael queried mildly, concerned enough to use the shortened childhood version of his brother's name.
"You need to call Luc back" Raphael's voice was odd. Too calm, too quiet. The words too were odd. Not that he didn't love him but Raphael was always glad to see the back of Lucifer when he finally disappeared on his travels.
Lucifer tried Raphael's guide skills the most out of all the brothers when his senses needed balancing and he was exhausted by the time Luc was back to normal. Or Luc's version of normal.
None of the brothers were "normal" sentinels. Too strong, too stubborn, too charismatic, too much of everything. They almost seemed to glow with the power they instinctively wielded and while they were unbonded, they were Raphael's responsibility.
Michael frowned again. His brother still hadn't turned to face him. Michael dialled up his senses. They were all trained to keep their senses at their lowest level whilst they were around Raphael. It allowed his unbonded brothers to accept his help because he wasn't their specific guide.
Michael caught the tiniest hitch in his brother's breathing and the scent of recently shed tears.
He rose from his chair like an avenging angel, what the hell? His little brother was tougher than his Sentinel brothers when it came to emotions. Michael would make whoever had caused those tears regret their initial decision to draw breath when they left the womb. No one messed with Michael's family.
Raphael felt Michael's panic and then the rising rage. He shook his head but swung round to face his big brother. "Mickey" he began softly.
Michael's intense blue eyes went wide with utter panic. Rafe never used that version of his name. Was he dying? The powerful Sentinel interrupted him urgently. "What the hell, Rafe? What's going on? Who upset you?"
Fond amusement crossed Raphael's face for a moment, and he relaxed. "Don't go all Blessed Protector on me now, Michael." He paused and then held out his hand towards his brother. Michael looked down as he instinctively took the papers being held out to him.
They were photographs, a little boy with black hair and vivid blue eyes and a young blonde woman who looked familiar. Michael's breath caught in his throat. He barely heard Raphael's next words.
"They have been found, Michael. Gabrielle and the child. Tell Luc to meet us in Cascade."