Chapter Eleven

The young girl lay huddled in the corner of a public washroom. He sat on the edge of one of the sinks, watching over her and hoping as he did often now that this night wouldn't be her last.

She was stoned out of her mind, dirty and broken. He'd tried to rouse her, had tried to get her to move enough to at least get home…to somewhere there was a soft bed. Poor girl didn't think she deserved it though, and he couldn't reach her in the state he was in. So she chose instead to lie on the filthy floor and let the drugs take her over. She took them to forget…but they just made the memories sharper, harder to bear.

I'm sorry little one, it wasn't supposed to be this way.

He wasn't used to failure, the being who watched over her. Wasn't used to mere mortals messing up his carefully laid out plans. This Caitlin woman though, she'd done one hell of a good job of it.

"Casimir…Why did you leave me? You said you'd stay…said you'd help until I could do it on my own."

The human tears cut straight through him. He could feel her pain and it made him want to cry too…that is if he could. In his current form tears were impossible. Instead it seemed the girl would do it for him. There were big wet tears streaming down her face, tinged pink in the harsh fluorescent light as if they were tears of blood. Damn it, but he'd had enough of this! The child had suffered enough in her young life…she would suffer no more.

Crouching down beside her, knowing full well she couldn't see him, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Maybe she would hear him this time…maybe she would feel the touch and be able to take small comfort from knowing she wasn't alone.

Cry your tears child. Cry so that we may both feel. It is better to feel pain than nothing at all. Remember though, as you cry those tears of helplessness that it shan't be for much longer. The woman is coming… the woman and her man will be here soon to help you and when they do you will no longer need me. You will no longer need white powders and syringes. They will help you to become strong so that you might stand alone proudly and without fear.

It didn't work though. The child heard nothing, simply cried harder.

"Casimir…Casey…Bringer of Peace, that's what you called yourself isn't it…so where are you now when I need you so desperately? You promised Casey…you promised!"

The girl closed her eyes and curled into herself as much as she could, oblivious to the fact that she'd just shied away from his touch. Casimir sighed, which was about the only thing he could do in his present state…currently being the consistency of air as he was. She shrank back from the fresh, cool air that suddenly brushed against her cheek. It figured. That she could feel.

That Caitlin woman was lucky the girl was in such bad shape, because there was no way he was leaving her side. Broken as she was he couldn't, wouldn't dare risk it. Were it not for that, for the child's long, hard fall back into darkness and his fear that she would perish if he left her to her own devices even for a short while…well Caitlin would currently be dealing with far more than a pretty pair of wings and a few newfound abilities. She'd be dealing with a very angry, incredibly powerful being. The Fae were not beings to be taken lightly.

Not to worry…she'd learn that lesson soon enough.


Sam couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe that Dean had just gone ahead and done exactly what Cal had told him to. Truthfully, he'd figured they'd make it an hour's drive away before Dean decided to turn back. It had already been four.

"Dude, what is going on with you? Since when do you just do what you're told?"

Dean grunted irritably.

"Hey, I didn't say I was going to stay gone did I? I told you, she needs a little space to deal. If I'd stayed and pushed she'd've just run off again. At least right now she's got Bobby with her to haul her ass out of trouble when she gets into it."

"And how long exactly are you planning to stay gone? Because the longer you're gone, the harder it's going to be to go back. You do realize that don't you?"

A great big hand found it's way to a comforting pat on Dean's shoulder, making Dean growl unpleasantly.

"Dude, get your touchy-feely, chick flick paw off me unless you want to lose it."

Okay, that was it. No way he was going to let his car get defiled by some Oprah moment his brother was hell-bent on having. Time for a change of subject.

"Hey, Kate. You okay back there? I think there's a pit stop coming up about twenty miles from here if you're ready to stretch your legs."

But that backfired too, because it seemed that all she'd been waiting for was an acknowledgement of her presence to put her own two cents in.

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"I…um. I don't remember all that much but… Well, Cal's scared right now. She's out of her depth on this one and it's pissing her off. I guess what I'm trying to say… you're going back right? Because that pushing you away stuff she's doing is a total load of crap and you should know that. She's going to need somebody to pick her up when she hits bottom…and that's…"

"Me? Yeah. I know."

Great. So now Franny's backbone decides to make itself known. Looks like the Oprah moment was going to happen whether he wanted it to or not. Damn.

"Look, you guys need to quit worrying about Cal and me and start focusing this demon problem of yours. Start focusing on each other. If it makes you both feel better to know it I'll be heading back as soon as I drop you off at Jim's, okay? Sooner if Bobby calls with anything new. No way I'm letting her deal with that thing alone again."

Okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly the plan. He wasn't going to head back to Cal right away… no, first he was going to hunt down that damned fairy. With Bobby's help he'd get to the damned thing first. The plan was to keep Cal out of harms way so he could fix this for her…if he could. But that was something Sam didn't necessarily need to know.

"Really?" They were both skeptical. Was he loosing his touch or something? He was usually a lot more convincing than this, wasn't he? He sure hoped so.

"Yeah. Really." He answered flatly.

"Now can we please stop talking about this? Oh, hey look! A Tim Horton's. Dude, call Dad and Jim and tell them we're pulling in for a minute. I'm getting coffee."

Finally they let it drop. For now. Dean knew better than to think that Sam would just let this go. He'd deal with that when he came to it though.


Cal and Bobby had been at it for hours now, searching hospital records for a Dolly Maddigan who may or may not have just recently checked out of detox for drug abuse. They figured the best way to find that fae creature would be to retrace its steps. Problem was… there was no Dolly Maddigan. She just didn't exist. Period.

"I don't get it. Nothing, not a single hit in all of Ontario and Quebec. How can this girl not exists? I mean…she was real. I know she was real."

The feathers of her wings puffed up and ruffled to suit her mood, which at the moment could at best be described as cranky.

Bobby wasn't sure whether to be amused or annoyed with Cal's mood swings. He was starting to understand Dean's frustration. It was pretty entertaining, until of course you were on the receiving end of it. Well at least he knew which mood she was going to switch to this time.

"Well, I found something. It's not much, but it's somewhere to start."

Great big baby blues turned on him excitedly.

"Really? What is it? What did you find?"

And suddenly she was that little pixie of a girl she must have been as a child. He stifled the urge to mutter the words that came to mind 'kids these days' choosing instead to answer her question.

"Margaret Desjardins. Sixteen years old. Her parents had her commited to the psych ward of the Ottawa Hospital about a month ago. She ran off a couple of days later and no one's seen or heard from her since."

Cal's face fell. "You're right. It's not much to go on at all."

Pft. Mood swings. One of the many reasons he tried to steer clear of women in general.

"Well there's a picture here if you want to take a look. I think you might be surprised. She's a little grungy but still a pretty good fit for the girl you exorcised."

Well now he had her attention. In fact, she was so curious that she actually came over to where he was sitting so she could get a look at the picture.

It was hard to make out a face under the dirt and bruises, and if it weren't for the glint in her hair from the flash Cal would never have guessed her hair to be blonde. There was no mistaking the girl though.

"My God Bobby…that's her. I mean, she's the farthest thing from the bouncy cheerleader I cornered in the gym a week ago…but that is definitely her."

Touching her fingers to the picture, Cal felt a pang of guilt. If this is what life had been like for her before the fae had offered to help her…

"Caitlin, you did the right thing."

Great. Yet another awesome side-effect to the wings. She'd lost her poker face.

"I never said I didn't"

Shaking his head at her, Bobby made it pretty clear that she didn't have to.

"Changing her name and giving her a new life wouldn't have made her problems go away. The life she left behind would still be there, haunting her better than any ghost or spirit ever could. The kid needs to learn how to stand on her own two feet, how to be strong before she can start building herself a new life."

But Cal wasn't ready to talk about it and at least that was something that hadn't changed. There was leg work to do and that beat a 'share and care' kind of conversation any day.

"We have a name and address for Barbie's parents?"

"I don't know about 'Barbie' but I have names and separate addresses for both of Margaret's parents and a lead in at social services for a younger brother who's in foster care."

"Awesome. Let's hit the road then. I'll talk to the parents and you can follow that social services lead."

Bobby just stared her down.

"What?!?" she tried… she had to try. Yeah Cal, because the innocent act is so going to work for you right now.

"Well for one thing, you really think they'll even let you in the door with those wings?"

"Hey, they haven't held me back so far…" …much. Technicalities right?

But the man wasn't having any of it.

"No. We're doing this together kid. After spending the better part of last night on the road looking for your sorry feathered behind there's no way I'm letting you out of my sight on this one. Oh, and before you start getting any bright ideas on how to get around me on this don't bother. I'm not a pushover like your boyfriend is."

Okay then. So maybe Bobby wasn't the quiet, easy going one she'd figured him to be. This could complicate things…just a little.

"I don't know if we're talking about the same Dean here, but the one I know isn't any kind of a pushover Bobby."

"Yeah, well. You better head up and pack your stuff. I made an appointment to meet with the doc who was treating her the few days she stayed at the hospital. We've got to be there by eight tonight."

So yeah. Maybe telling Dean to leave…watching him leave…maybe it had hurt her more than she was willing to admit to. Bobby didn't know her very well, but he knew her well enough to know that it was unusual for her to just go ahead and do what he'd suggested. He listened to the shuffle of her feet as she took the stairs one at a time. Looked like she'd be up there awhile. He sighed and dug a cell phone out of his pocket. At least it would give him some time to call Dean.


The tinny sound of ring tone which just happened to be the opening riffs to AC/DC's Back in Black cut insistently into the quiet of the Impala. Dean scowled at it, hoping to hell it wasn't loud enough to wake Sam or Franny up. One look at the lit display screen and his eyes went wide. This was it: the call he'd been waiting for.

"Bobby? Talk to me." There was a note of urgency to his voice now, that hadn't been there before as he'd chatted with Sam earlier. It was time to get a move on…time to head back.

"Got a lead Dean." That right there? Music to Dean's ears sweeter than any Zeppelin or Metallica he'd ever heard.

"Good. What do you have for me?" Finally something he could sink his teeth into.

"Well, the name the fae gave Cal for the girl was wrong. Turns out the kids' name is Margaret Desjardins, not Dolly Maddigan. She checked herself out of a psych ward a couple of weeks ago."

"Psych ward? For detox?"

"Yeah, the parents had her committed." Well wasn't that nice. Couldn't say he would've gone the same route with it…but then he wasn't exactly in their shoes now was he? It wasn't the kid he was worried about right now anyway…he had enough on his plate with Cal, his family and the damned demon.

"So what's the plan then? What do we have to work with?"

"Well, I managed to stall Cal by making us an appointment with the doc who was looking after her at the hospital…I don't see us getting anything useful from him though. Saved that for you. I've got names and addresses for both parents and a lead in with Social Services on the kid brother who's in foster care right now."

"Sounds like a happy little family they've got going on there doesn't it?"

"Yeah, these guys give dysfunctional a whole new meaning. There's more if you can believe it. I've got criminal records for both parents. The mother's been arrested for drug possession, the father just got out of jail for assault…apparently he's got a thing for smacking around women and kids. Especially his own."

Yup, just your average happy family… confirming two theories Dean had going. The first being that people are crazy. Period. The second being that the whole 'friendly' front these Canadians had was just an act to fool the rest of the world into a false sense of security. Cal being his best case in point.

"Where am I headed then?"

"Ottawa."

"Okay, leave me what you've got at Cal's place… up in the loft if you can get it there without making her suspicious."

"What're you thinking Dean?"

"I'll talk to the kid first, hit the parents next. Mother then Dad. Figure I'll go in as Social Services, investigating Margaret's disappearance from the hospital and possible reasons for her to want to run away. I don't see them buying that story from the two of you and three cops on the case of a runaway, drug addict teenager? It's not going to look good."

"Okay then. We'll talk to the doc tonight…check out the mother first thing, and the dad next that way they're not askin' us who the Social Services guy was."

"Yeah, thanks man. Call me if anything else comes up."

Dean had only just pressed the 'end' button on his phone and he was dialing again.

"Dad? Hey, you guys have room for Sammy and Fran in the truck?"

"Yeah. Why, what's going on?"

"Bobby just called. I'm heading back."

"All right son. There's a rest stop about five miles down the road. We'll stop there."

If Dean didn't know better he'd have thought there was a smile in his fathers voice.

"Thanks Dad."

The soft chuckle in the cab of the truck was out of place enough to have Jim glancing from the road ahead of them to the man riding shotgun beside him.

"That was Dean I take it?"

"Yeah. Bobby called him, they've got a lead so he's heading back." He couldn't help another small laugh.

"She's special to him, that Caitlin." It was an open statement designed to keep John talking, rather than the question it came out as. The man had never really been much for words and Jim couldn't resist the opportunity when it arose.

"Yeah. She sure is." And it was good to know.


He wasn't used to this feeling…this feeling of responsibility. It made Casey itch to do something even though there wasn't much he could do. At least not for Margaret. Caitlin's little exorcism had left him his powers, sure…but it also left him unable to use them to help the child.

"Ah Maggie…" She was still huddled in on herself in the corner of the disgusting little public bathroom, flying high as a kite and passed out cold from it. All he could do was pace back and forth across the stained linoleum and watch her carefully for any sign of change.

Maggie would twitch and flinch in the dream plagued state she was in. Reliving painful memories and whimpering as she did, tears streaming down her face. She'd call for Casey when the dreams were at their worst and that's when he'd leave the room. Never for more than a minute…just long enough to influence the bartender to come back and check her for signs of overdose.

They knew Maggie here… she'd come here often before Casey had first approached her with his offer of help. He was thankful she'd decided to come here tonight. The bartender had a soft spot for her, as Casey himself did. The man had children of his own and watched over Maggie when she came in like this. Not that he did much, but he had fingers and a voice to call for an ambulance should Maggie overdose and that was more than Casey had at the moment. It would have to be enough until Caitlin caught up with them.

Poor Maggie's dreams were at their worst tonight and they had Casey scared which was another feeling that was new to him, and not welcome one either. He didn't leave the room this time when she started screaming. Sat down next to her instead and wrapped arms she couldn't feel comfortingly around her. He didn't need to use his powers to get the bartender to come this time. Maggie's cries were loud enough to summon him on their own. This time though, this time the man wasn't alone.

When the door swung open and the middle aged, slightly balding, greasy looking man rushed in Casey was startled to see another man on his heels. This one's face was familiar. Features that on the child were soft and delicate were sharp and dangerous on the man. He was tall and built in a way that said he worked hard at it. Maggie's father. Things were taking a turn for the worst.

He'd barely set eyes on his daughter and he was across the room, fingers digging bruises into the skin of Maggie's arm.

"On your feet girl." He'd barked angrily as he hauled her up and dragged her halfway across room.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? That's no way to treat the kid!" The bartender was clearly shocked at the way this man was handling his own daughter.

"I'm taking her useless ass back to my place and teaching her a lesson is what I'm doing." Clearly this man was used to getting his way by use of brute force whenever possible.

The man's threats did little to phase the bartender though, who stepped in front of the door to keep the man from dragging Maggie out. Casey was impressed.

"I'm not just going to sit back here and let you do this to her Dennis. You're her father for God's sake!"

Dennis for his part just snorted. "Yeah, like you can stop me Eric."

One hard shove had Eric stumbling away from the doorway and Dennis was dragging poor bewildered Maggie away again.

Fortunately Casey was not prepared to let things stand as they were. He may not be able to reach Maggie, but his powers still worked on the rest of the world.

The bathroom lights flickered ominously as he gave his powers free reign.

Maggie wouldn't hear him, wouldn't see him…but these men would. Casey intended to teach them both a thing or two regarding his thoughts on how they'd been treating the child. His Maggie deserved better than this.

There was a collective gasp from both men when suddenly a tall, beautiful man appeared between them.

"Put the child down, mortal. Gently."

Casey's voice was cold as ice, his smile even colder.

Dennis stubbornly shook his head and tightened his grip, pulling Maggie closer to the door. It was enough. The man was obviously not intelligent enough to know when he was out of his depth. He'd made his decision and now Casey was going to show him just how wrong he'd been in thinking he could get away with it.

"Very well then, you leave me no choice."

The lights flickered again and Casey disappeared briefly, only to reappear directly in front of Dennis. Hands on wrists he forced the man to lower Maggie until she lay on the ground once more. Another flicker of the lights and the bathroom door had opened, seemingly of it's own will. Dennis' eyes went wide with fear and this pleased Casey immensely.

"You" he spoke to the bartender this time. "Let your waitresses tend the bar tonight. Take my Maggie home and care for her. I'll be along shortly."

Eric gently lifted Maggie to her feet, obviously fearful. Still, it seemed that the man cared enough about the child not to hesitate in following Casey's orders. "Come on sweetheart… let's get you someplace comfortable and safe, eh?" He spoke softly to her as he guided her out of the room. Yes, he cared. That much was obvious. It was this fact that would save him from Casey's wrath.

Stopping briefly in front of Casimir he boldly looked the fae in the eye. "Just so we get this straight: I'm doing this for her. We clear?"

"Of course." Eric nodded. He'd figured as much.

"What're you gonna do with him?" he asked, tilting his chin towards Dennis whose wrists were still firmly trapped in Casey's hands even with the fight he was putting up.

"He is not your concern, the child is. I shall deal with this one accordingly."

Eric nodded again, in agreement this time. He was pretty sure that whatever the guy was going to do it would involve Dennis getting a hurt-on. "Do me a favor though? Whatever it is you're planning to do to him, keep it out of my bar."

Casey nodded acknowledgement just the once. "It is time for the both of you to leave now Eric."

He was out in the hallway just past the door when he paused one last time. "Hey Dennis? Whatever he does to ya, I want you to know you're gettin' what you deserve." And with a grim smile and another comforting word in Maggie's ear he turned his back on the lowlife of a man who was the girl's father.

"Now then Dennis…let us have a conversation on the appropriate way to treat children shall we? And perhaps while we are on the subject we can also discuss your role in your daughters downward spiral into darkness." The cold smile turned predatory and had Maggie's father cowering in fear for the first time in his life.

Casey was nose to nose with the helpless man before him. He wouldn't be able to hold this solid form much longer. That was fine, he didn't need it to put his point across. By the time he was finished with this mere mortal he would have the man thinking twice before even lifting a finger for any reason other than self defense.

A door at the far end of the hallway opened, leading out to a back alley as Casey went transparent again, the lights flickering as his voice drifted through the cool night air, scaring the hell out of Dennis.

"Step into my parlor then, mortal and let us get on with it."


thx for reading, please review : )