Been a while, but the reviews were positive, so I decided to add to this. Chapter 2 for your reading pleasure.
Chapter 2
The angels scattered, Gabriel still cradling Castiel against his chest. Blood and grace were pouring out of several tears in Castiel's skin. A few blood feathers were torn off in the middle and leaking blood. Gabriel knew he needed help to care for Castiel, but he didn't want his own feathers clipped by Michael, so he flew to Earth. He saw Enoch in his room, quietly praying, and knew it would be a safe place to ask for help.
Gabriel knocked on the door and waited. It took a few minutes, but Enoch came out.
"Hello," said Enoch. "What happened?"
"You can see his wings?" Gabriel asked, a little surprised.
"And yours," said Enoch. "My name is Enoch. Please come in."
Gabriel ducked under the doorway, moving slowly and carefully so as not to jostle Castiel.
"Set him wherever you think he'd be comfortable," said Enoch. "Don't worry about the blood. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Father left Heaven this morning," Gabriel began.
Enoch frowned. "What do you mean? I was just talking to Him."
"I mean He's not in Heaven," said Gabriel. "He can still hear you, but we don't know where He is."
Enoch shook his head. "Keep going."
"Anyway, as I was saying, Father left this morning, and Lucifer came up for a little visit. He got in a fight with Michael and then stripped off all of Castiel's feathers. Castiel was the last angel Father created. How could Lucifer have it in his heart to do such a thing?" Gabriel asked, eyes smoldering with grief and anger.
"Why did you bring Castiel to me?" asked Enoch. "I'm just a man. I don't see how I can help."
"You love our Father," said Gabriel. "Besides, you know birds. I think you can help Castiel better than I can."
"Okay," said Enoch. "It is alright if I take a minute?"
"Sure," said Gabriel. "We'll be right here."
Enoch went to his closet and knelt to pray.
"Father, is it true that you have left Heaven? What should I do? I'm just a man."
"I will sort the angels out. Your job is to listen to Gabriel and help him with Castiel. Do not worry about Heaven. Everything is under My care."
"Okay," said Enoch. "I will."
He went downstairs. Castiel looked like he was asleep.
"I'll help," said Enoch.
"Thank you," said Gabriel. "That means a lot."
Enoch carefully removed the torn blood feathers and stitched up the torn skin with a sterile needle. Then he gently bandaged Castiel's wings to protect them until new feathers grew in, but Castiel twitched and knocked off the bandages, so he gave up.
"That's the best I can do," he said. "He'll be okay, unless losing his feathers interferes with learning to fly. He won't be able to fly until a lot of feathers grow in. When is his next full molt?"
"Angels don't really molt the same way," said Gabriel. "I don't know when his feathers will grow back. But I'll teach him to fly personally if I have to. Thank you again for your help, Enoch."
"Will you be staying?" Enoch asked.
"Yeah, probably for at least a few days," said Gabriel. "I don't think Lucifer will look for us here, and Castiel needs to rest. He'll just wear himself out trying to keep up with the other fledglings, especially since he can't fly."
"You're welcome to stay as long as you like," Enoch told him. "I'm happy to have you here."