In the Name of Misbehavior...
Title: " In the name Of misbehavior and the things we don't need", lyrics from the song Carnival of Rust, by Poets of the Fall (Album: Carnival of Rust, 2006)
꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ A ꧂
A/N: Hello people! And a warm welcome to the new followers. Thank you for the last round of feedback! You guys rock! Some of you spent considerable time answering our questions and really offered us some insight into your thoughts and how you perceive this story...And we're so grateful! You keep us going!
Now about this chapter… This was originally a sixty-something-page monster, but we decided it was too long (even for our standards!). So we divided it into two parts. Now we won't be mean and make you wait too long. The second installment, Chapter 23, will be posted in ~ two weeks. No 1-month-wait in between. And you get two long chapters in one month. Not bad, right? These two will bring certain "resolutions" you've all been eager to read, while still moving the plot forward. As always, we're excited to hear your thoughts. We even got a couple of questions down below… Do indulge us with as long or as short an answers as you'd like!
P.S. Some of you have mentioned missing a hunt. One is heading your way soon. Chapter 25 to be exact! Certain things need to be out of the way and established before we get there. These last couple of chapters have been heavy on drama, but that's just life sometimes, right? It doesn't really give you a break. As you enjoy this chapter, perhaps you're getting a break from all of these Covid-19 world events. Be safe, you and yours. It is our greatest wish for you.
Enjoy and review!
Marion & Lau Whisperer
꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ A ꧂
"Amber? Is that you? What are you doing here?"
Emily's path towards the bus stop always took her in this direction of the parking lot. Seeing a smaller, presumably female figure up ahead, Emily approached cautiously, and wasn't alerted to anything out of the ordinary. It was a Target parking lot in the Christmas season. It was full of cars with people coming and going. As she'd walked closer to this approaching figure, she heard a familiar voice.
Watching Emily approaching, Amber remembered what her lack of due diligence had brought her, and started discreetly whispering the exorcism Sam had her memorize.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus omnis satanica potestas omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, draco maledicte. Ecclesiam tuam securi tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos."
Amber kept her gaze on Emily, watching for any sign of weird behavior or reaction. As she expected, Emily didn't look bothered in the least.
Sighing with relief, Amber smiled at the girl who was now standing in front of her.
Emily looked really grown up, except for her face. Her face still looked contrasted with the adult clothes she wore and the makeup she'd applied. She could easily pass for a twenty-year-old, but it was still Emily.
"Yeah, it's me. Sorry to startle you."
Amber was still a bit disoriented from having teleported. Realizing this was so random, and not wishing to draw attention to unanswerable questions, Amber decided to play this off as a 'happy accident.'
"What are you doing here?" was Emily's reasonable question. It was after 10 pm, dark, and in the middle of a parking lot. Not typical at all.
"Well, I had a chocolate craving, you know how that goes. That time of the month and all. Slipped out to get my fix. Where are you headed? It's late."
.
"I worked an extra shift today. Just got off work," Emily answered. "Are you alone?" she asked, glancing around them for any sign of her rude family.
"Yeah, I'm alone." Amber felt bad for earlier in the day.
"I know. They're a lot to take. I'm so sorry for how they acted earlier. They mean well, but they're not very good at the whole social thing."
Emily noticed Amber shivering and her eyes enlarged. "Where's your coat? It's freezing!"
Amber was hugging herself and couldn't hide the fact that she was cold. Now how would she explain this? Shaking her head after a silent second she managed to fake a chuckle.
"Left it in the car. Hey, do you have time for a cup of tea or something? I mean, I don't know when I'll have the chance to see you again," she offered. Surprisingly, the cafe from earlier was still open and there were a few people inside working on their laptops. It looked warm and...literally a light in the middle of the darkness. And god, she needed to get inside and out of the cold. She still felt disoriented and she needed to act fast on all fronts.
She'd steal some time to catch up with Emily since she'd bumped into her. Then she'd have to call Sam and Dean… She felt her stomach churn with worry at this thought. Would they be mad?
Emily looked like she was thinking it over. After a few seconds of contemplation she finally nodded.
"Why not? It's as good an opportunity as any I guess. Don't have to be back to work until 11 am tomorrow."
Amber smiled at the girl and followed her inside the small cafe, the warm air and cozy atmosphere hitting her. The smell of coffee was like a fuzzy blanket, thick, familiar, and comforting. It was astonishing that people still drank coffee late at night, but there it was, scent heavy in the air. And it enfolded her senses, spiking her mind's surveillance of her surroundings. The scent, even this late at night, was waking her up. Funny, she'd never known that anyone could get a 'contact high' from just smelling coffee, but it felt like she was feeling more awake. Amber didn't mind. The two of them headed to the empty counter to order and only then Amber realized she had no money on her.
"Shit!" She mumbled quietly.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked.
"I'm so distracted today… I spent my last cash… You know, on my chocolate fix," Amber blurted out, feeling her face flushing lightly with embarrassment.
Emily, waved a hand. "No big deal. I can buy. Don't worry."
"Em, thanks so much. I really appreciate this," was Amber's chagrined response.
"No problem." Emily was being very kind. Still, she found it odd for Amber to not have a coat, or money. "What do you want me to get you?"
"I'll have whatever you're having. I'm not picky," Amber smiled awkwardly.
Emily, peering at the girl intently, could tell something was off. Deciding she had better chances of getting answers over a hot cup of anything, she simply nodded and then asked, "Why don't you go grab us a table? I"ll get our order and come join you."
Thankful for the chance to get some alone time and sort out her thoughts, Amber immediately agreed. She left Emily to order at the counter as she headed to a corner table at the far end of the store. There weren't many people around at this hour, so this would be perfect. Collapsing into one of the chairs she ran both hands through her hair and took in a shaky breath. How the hell did she keep ending up in these impossible situations? Glancing at her phone she realized it had been less than five minutes since she'd teleported here. Judging by the lack of missed calls and texts she presumed her brothers hadn't noticed her absence. Yet.
Now what? Racking her brain for a course of action, a lightbulb went off in her head. Cas! She could call Cas. She just might persuade him not to tell Sam and Dean. Not tonight. She couldn't handle any more fights or long-ass discussions. She checked the time again. Six minutes. Letting out a breath, and feeling a bit more confident about how she'd play this off, she decided she could hold off calling Cas for at least ten more minutes. That would buy her some more time with Emily.
Getting to their table, two cups of tea in hand, Emily handed one to Amber, who laced her fingers around the porcelain cup, feeling the warmth soak into her cold hands and travel up into her arms. This felt so good. Bringing the cup closer to her nose, Amber inhaled the scent curling off in the steam of her tea. It smelled light, bright, and fragrant in a mysterious way.
"It's a citrus green tea blend...or something. Figured it wouldn't be too strong and I remembered you like citrus-y stuff."
A warm smile spreading on her face Amber looked at her old friend. "Wow… I can't believe you remember something like this."
Eyeing her friend, Emily laughed a bit.
"Remember how you used to pick the lemon rinds out of the home's garbage, wash them, boil them and bring the pot to our room to make it 'smell all lemony and nice'?"
Emily remembered this odd quirk of Amber's which got her into trouble once. Apparently, the woman who ran this home had watched Amber do this and decided Amber was this ill-mannered child. This had led to a call to the social worker's office to complain. It was a big deal in the house as the social worker had to make an official visit. She had heard the house mother out, then spoken with Amber, who had explained that she didn't feel she was allowed to ask for anything, even something like using the discarded lemon peel. This had led to the social worker interviewing ALL of the placed children to determine if their needs were getting met. It had been a very big deal about nothing. How could Emily forget that?
"Amber, it's hard not to remember someone asking you if you needed to pick food out of the garbage in order to eat."
This struck Amber as both funny and sad. They'd survived something brutal.
Soldiers know this: There's nothing like shared adversity to create a strong bond between the survivors. Thinking back on all of this, the two girls laughed. It felt good to laugh about their shared past. Still laughing, Amber was enjoying this accidental prison break.
"So…How is life? How are you doing?" Amber asked.
"I'm managing. Doing much better now than when I was in the system," Emily answered honestly.
"I know what you mean," Amber nodded seriously. "I ran away when I was thirteen. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"Thirteen? Damn, Amber! How did you manage to make it on your own?" Emily asked, surprised and quite impressed.
Amber shrugged. "I managed," she quipped. "It wasn't easy. I had a lot of near misses, almost got put back into the system, but figured I'd work under the table, and this led to some other stuff that helped me."
Here, Amber was remembering meeting Ty, and how the Woodpecker's owner, the pub in Reno, helped her out. Such a nice woman. She could've turned Amber into CPS, but never did. Instead she offered her help here and there and made sure she always had a shift available for Amber to work. And Ty's friends, who happened to be able to get her a fake ID and point her to the old abandoned house, which she turned to her first home. She still didn't know how they knew that the water and electricity were never shut off when the house was abandoned. Ty's hacking skills gave her the luxury of internet access. This proved to be a turning point for her.
Emily was listening to Amber, hearing similar parallels to her own story of escape.
"Yeah… If it wasn't for this older kid at the last foster home, I'd still be trapped in there."
Emily was quiet for a moment, and Amber waited, knowing she was probably saying this out loud for the first time.
"As soon as this older guy turned eighteen, he helped me "vanish". Fake papers, new ID… He helped me move here. I owe him everything."
Amber noticed Emily's expression darkening as she shared this. "You two still in touch?" She asked hesitantly, trying to figure out what she was missing.
"No," Emily shook her head, her face looking...well, looking very uncomfortable. Amber saw Emily's discomfort and knew she wouldn't probe this bruise into a wound. Both girls let this subject alone.
Sitting up a bit straighter, Emily forged ahead.
"The important thing is I got a room, got a job, and I make ends meet. Now tell me about you… How did you find out you have living relatives? Who are those guys?"
Amber considered this for a few seconds. Deciding Emily knowing wouldn't change anything much, she'd answer using their cover story.
"They're my dad and uncle. Remember that locket I never took off? The one we couldn't get open no matter how hard we tried?"
A bit thrown off by the random question, Emily just nodded.
"I managed to open it a while back. It had a rolled up note inside with some information about my biological family. It was written by my mom."
Amber's voice was quiet now, hushed as she spoke this. It was this sacred fable in her life. Pulling herself up from the silence she'd lapsed into, she met Emily's eyes. She realized her eyes had gone a bit watery with unintended emotion, and pulled back on the joystick to prevent this nosedive.
"That's how I found my dad and uncle Sam. We've lived together for...let me think... it's almost two months now," Amber explained, only just now realizing how little time had actually gone by.
"A note hidden in a locket?" Emily scoffed in surprise. "That's kinda weird, don't you think?"
"Tell me about it," Amber mumbled, rolling her eyes remembering how this all went down. A montage of memories were populating her mind like a mess of thumbnail images on a monitor screen. Irony front and center, her unspoken thought was, 'You don't know the half of it!'
The sudden buzz of her phone made Amber jump in her seat. Holding her breath she unlocked her screen and saw a text. From Kyle. Kyle?
"What the hell?" she mumbled, opening it. She read the short question he had sent her.
'Where are you?"
Scoffing with annoyance, she simply locked her phone and turned her attention back to Emily.
"Everything okay?" her friend asked.
"Yeah… Everything's fine," Amber nodded.
"So… A dad and an uncle! Wow! How is that going? They don't seem exactly easy-going people," Emily asked.
Amber squinted her eyes as she tried to think of a way to answer that.
"Well, they're okay. I know they don't give out the best first impression, but they're kinda cool. In their own weird way. They've been through a lot and they tend to get a bit overprotective. And you know… We've lived alone for so long, that it hasn't been easy trying to make this work now. You know, us all living all together, I mean."
"I'd say. They seemed like they were so angry at you. And why was the tall guy flicking holy water on me? That was just...just weird." Emily shivered here remembering this odd encounter, her mouth frowning. "By the way, which one is your dad and which one is your uncle?"
"The tall holy-water-flicking one is my uncle. The other's my dad," Amber answered the easy part of the question. She racked her brain for a way to explain the holy-water, but found none. "I can't really get into why he did that water-thing… But, uhm, uncle Sam's a bit… Quirky."
Raising an eyebrow, Emily asked for clarification, "As in crazy?"
"No. Now calling him crazy is a tad extreme. Let's stick to quirky. He's really religious," Amber answered, trying not to snicker at the absurd irony between her words and the real reasons behind Sam's actions.
Emily could feel this wasn't the whole truth, but understood. She wasn't revealing much, either.
The sudden banging on the large window next to their table made both girls jump.
Amber turned startled eyes to see what was happening and she gaped at Kyle, who was leaning close to the glass from the outside and glaring at her. What the hell did he want here? How was he here?
"Do you know this guy?" Emily's question made Amber turn to look at her.
"Yeah, I do. Emily, I'm Really sorry, but I need to step outside and see what he wants. I won't be long, I promise!"
"Do you want me to come with you?" Emily asked, her expression a bit alarmed.
"No, it's okay. He's… He's a friend," Amber said with a forced smile.
'Sort-of-a-friend' was how Emily read Amber's contained exasperation.
"Okay then…" Emily would let her sort out what she needed to sort out. " Hey, take my coat! It's freezing out there," she offered, handing Amber the thick, black jacket she had draped over the back of her chair. It still felt warm from being worn.
Putting it on the warmth felt good. And Amber rushed out of the small cafe and towards the window in front, where Kyle was still standing.
Amber, hands spread open in a gesture of angry frustration. Shaking her head she asked incredulously, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Hey, Amber! Good to see you too," came Kyle's sarcastic response.
"Cut the crap, Kyle," Amber's raised voice was nearing a yell. "You haven't so much as texted since my birthday and now you just happen to pop up here? How the fuck did you know where to find me? You just randomly pop up in cemeteries and coffee shops?"
Irritated by this uncooperative girl, Kyle was watching his own cover becoming thin. Amber was smart, so he had to assume she suspected something and he needed to deflect this.
"Τhis doesn't matter. What matters is that you're out here, all alone. Does your family know where you are?"
Kyle was sounding like he assumed dominion over Amber and she wasn't having this.
"This is my own business and you're to fuck off! You don't get to intrude on my life whenever you like, wherever I am, and boss me around. I don't owe you anything. Just leave." Amber, stood in front of Kyle, shoulders squared, eyes steady and fierce.
Kyle scoffed and brought a hand to rub at his jaw, his frustration evident.
"You don't know what you're talking about. You're not safe out in the open like this, don't you get it?"
When she only kept glaring at him took a step towards her, making a move with his hand to clasp her shoulder.
"What do you think you're doing?" Amber asked in a dangerous tone, as she took a step back, breaking connection with Kyle's hand.
"Getting you to safety. I got a motel room nearby. You can crash with me till your dad or uncle comes to get you," Kyle answered resolutely.
"I'm not going anywhere with you!"
An idea occurring to her in the heat of that moment made Amber blurt out her next words.
"I'll call Castiel. He's an angel, friend of ours. He can come and get me." She remained still, studying Kyle's reaction to these words.
Kyle's whole body flinched. It was a strong reaction and an even stronger tell.
"What's wrong Kyle? Angels make you squirm?" Amber asked, in a smug tone. She had caught him. This, right here, was the strongest proof she had up to now about what Kyle was hiding. She knew angels could see beyond physical appearances. They could read energies. If Kyle was more than a mere hunter, more than a human, Cas would be able to tell. And Kyle knew this.
"Fine, call him! What I care about is you getting off the damn streets and somewhere safe. I'm not moving till you call him, though," Kyle ground out, arms crossing in front of his chest.
"You're unbelievable," Amber said with a sardonic chuckle. Huffing, annoyed Amber fished her phone out, and scrolled through her contacts list, hitting Cas' number. She let it ring, patiently waiting for him to answer. It never rang, but was simply answered.
"Hello Amber," was the angel's level-toned greeting.
"Hey, Cas… I got in a bit of a situation… You know? How… Oh… Okay. Yeah, sure. Just call me when you get here and I'll meet you in the parking lot… Thanks, bye!"
Kyle watched this one-sided conversation. His ears picked up on the voice coming from the other side. Even though he couldn't tell exactly what he was saying, he knew this wasn't a call Amber faked to get him off her case.
"He was already on the way. He'll be here in about five," Amber informed Kyle.
"Good. I'm gonna stick around to make sure he does," Kyle answered grimly.
Shaking her head, Amber glared at him. "You're gonna risk being seen by him just to make sure I'll get in his damn car?"
"Yes, Amber! That's what I'm gonna do. 'Cause shit has hit the fan and things have escalated. More and more… people are after you. In Sioux Falls, in Reno, here in Kansas, in Denver, in goddamn Emerson… Anywhere you've been seen, things have started happening," Kyle said heatedly.
"And despite this, you keep being stupid! So you wanna get angry at me for not trusting you to behave responsibly and take care of yourself? Fine! But I ain't going anywhere until someone gets your ass back to safety," he snapped.
"Fuck you!" The girl snarled. "You don't know the first thing about me! About how much I've come to actually taking care of myself. You don't know what happened tonight, why or how I got here… So screw you, Kyle!"
She turned on her heel and took a few purposeful steps towards the coffee-shop, when she suddenly paused. She was beyond angry at him, but his words did register. Turning back she walked up to him and leaned close to his ear.
"You wanna do something useful for a change? Get your ass to Reno! There's a hunter there, a friend of mine. He's investigating a couple of fresh demon kills. He's alone and he needs all the help he can get. His name's Josh. Josh Jarvis. You wanna help me, Kyle? Make sure Josh doesn't die."
Kyle stared at her disbelievingly at what he'd just heard.
"You seriously think I'm gonna haul ass to Reno just to help some random guy? A friend of yours? What kind of friend, Amber?" His voice held a tinge of jealousy.
"The good kind of friend," Amber answered with a smirk. "The really, really close kind of friend. Who knows a lot about me and a lot about my family. Do you get what I'm saying,
Kyle? Do you get why it's important to keep him safe? And out of hell's grasp?"
Kyle stared back at her. He did get why this was important. But this amounted to Amber giving him orders. He didn't like this. And he certainly didn't like her less than subtle insinuation about that Josh guy. His brain raced in an effort to make a call on this. Jaw clenching, and lips setting in a tight line, he leaned close to Amber.
"Fine, I'll go. Not because you told me to, but because it's what's best to keep your stupid ass safe. And I hope you realize just how fucked up it was telling that Josh guy who you are and who's your family."
Amber didn't comment on this. Kyle had no idea the context that any of this took place within. It has been unavoidable and necessary. Kyle didn't know that Josh had no idea that she was a Nephilim. But in this situation, Amber making it sound like Josh did know, this did the trick perfectly. Suck on that, Kyle!
"Well, it's done. Deal with it or don't. Your call." Amber sounded very sure to herself, and surprisingly, she felt very sure of herself, too.
"Text me when you get home," Kyle ground out before turning his back on her and walking away.
"Text me how it went in Reno," Amber called back at his retreating figure. Suddenly, she couldn't see him. It was like he'd just vanished. Hearing the sound of an engine, Amber turned to see Cas pulling up in his old, blue car. Of course. Kyle had probably felt Cas approaching.
Her phone vibrated a few seconds later.
"Hey Cas… Yeah, I saw the car. Give me a minute, I'll be right over," Amber spoke into the phone before ending the call and rushing back inside the cafe to Emily.
"Everything alright out there?" Emily asked as her friend returned to their table.
"Yeah, everything's fine," Amber smiled, shoving off the jacket and handing it back to Emily.
"You sure? You two seemed like you were fighting," Emily pressed. "Is he your boyfriend or something?"
"Or something," Amber responded drily. "Long story and it's really not worth the time."
Amber's dismissive tone was an obvious discouragement and Emily left it at this. It sounded complicated.
"Hey, my car's battery died and I have a family member, a much nicer family member, who just showed up to pick me up. Would you mind if he joined us for a bit? Either way, I'll have to leave soon."
"More family?" Emily asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah. I know, I know. From none to them just coming out of the woodwork." Amber rolled her eyes, because this was such an insane situation to live with...and even more insane to explain.
Emily was initially hesitant, and Amber could see this. Couldn't blame her after Dean and Sam's sideshow. Reading her friend's hesitation, Amber smiled gently, understanding her very reasonable hesitation and got out her phone to text Cas.
"No, it's Ok," Emily said. She decided she'd give this another go. It had been so long and she really did want to catch up with Amber.
Looking up at her friend, Amber carefully offered, "Are you sure? He'd be fine if I just go out in a few minutes. He's very understanding."
Emily shook her head. "No. Go ahead and call him in. I'm fine."
Amber quickly typed a short text to Cas inviting him to join them. She briefly wondered if Sam and Dean had caught up with the fact that she wasn't in the bunker. Deciding there wasn't anything she could really do about it, she pushed the worrying thought to the back of her mind.
"So what kind of family are we talking about here?" Emily asked, glancing towards the door.
"Cas is my dad's cousin. I guess that would make him my cousin, too. But we're not big on labels in our home. He's just Cas, you know."
"Cas…" Emily tried the name out. "I haven't heard that name again."
"It's short for Castiel," a deep, male voice suddenly spoke next to them, making both girls jump.
"Gee, Cas! Don't do that. You startled us," Amber said, clutching her chest.
Turning to look at Emily, she offered an apologetic smile. "He's really quiet when he walks into a room. He does that all the time back home, too."
Emily let out an awkward chuckle, not sure how to respond to any of this. She turned to look at the man with a small smile and offered her hand, "I'm Emily, an old friend of Amber."
"I'm Castiel," Cas answered, not taking her hand, but looking at her kindly.
Before he could add anything that would blow her story Amber piped up, "He's my dad's cousin. Like I told you." Sizing up the awkwardness that was already inserting itself here, Amber added, "He's really nice, but he's a bit off with manners and stuff."
Cas glanced at her and back to Emily before nodding his agreement, "That's right."
Emily, was caught between wanting to laugh out loud and having no idea what she'd just witnessed. An odd smile graced her lips and she decided he liked this weird guy.
"Amber, would your cousin like a cup of tea?" Emily said, looking at Amber, then at Cas.
"No thank you. I don't drink tea," was Cas' predictable response, face pleasant, demeanour composed.
Again, Emily was left dangling between the emotions of whether she was being played and this was all an act, or this guy was just this weird.
Watching her friend's face, Amber was getting the giggles. Cas was just so charmingly awkward, it was endlessly amusing.
Fixing her face, so Emily didn't think she was laughing at her, Amber offered, "Cas is a very literal person. He truly means what he says and takes what you mean literally. It's pretty funny. You should've seen how much trouble my dad had to go to, to get Cas to have a piece of my birthday cake."
Emily took two things away from this single sentence: Amber's family celebrated her birthday with a cake and her dad seemed intent on other people enjoying cake. This was clearly not the guy she'd met earlier that day.
"They celebrate your birthdays?" was Emily enquiry, her eyes and voice both holding a slight smile in them.
Turning to Emily, Amber realized this was something neither girl had while in the system.
Normal people celebrated birthdays. Back when they were both in the same foster home, they were each lucky if the money the state paid their foster parents actually got spent on clothes and food for them. Far down on the list of things their life presented, birthday gifts or a cake just never happened.
"Well, they celebrated my birthday for the first time this year and I actually got two birthdays parties and two cakes. It was pretty funny.
"Yes, I gave Amber some shaving cream and cinnamon gum. We gave her crappy gifts and bought her a cake at Krogers," was Cas' matter-of-fact retelling of the gag gifts and bunker celebration, as he still stood stiffly over the two girls.
"What? Shaving cream?" was Emily's confused question, looking first at Amber's face, and seeing no contradiction to this story, looking to Castiel for help understanding this ridiculous statement. Amber just chuckled.
"My grandfather only ever got my dad and uncle's birthday gifts at gas station mini marts. They turned this into a gag gift tradition, but at first I thought they were real! I really thought they'd given me these crappy gifts. Although, I got a great T-shirt from my dad."
Smiling to herself, thinking that she needed to wear this T-shirt more often. Returning her attention to Emily, she continued explaining the context of Cas' shaving cream gift.
"And they got a cake from the grocery store with writing on it. They sang happy birthday to me and everything. Then, a few days later I had another party with some friends in Sioux Falls. This sheriff, she's kind of like a foster mother of sorts, she planned this birthday party at a restaurant, with the best cake I've ever had."
Amber was intentionally leaving out details.
"I wasn't at this party," was Cas' interjection.
"No you weren't, but I wish you had been," was Amber's reflection on how Cas' presence would have aborted so much trouble for her had he been allowed to be there.
Her phone buzzing, Amber pulled it out, flipping it open and looking at the screen.
"You home yet?" was Kyle's text.
Deciding she wasn't going to answer this right now, but that she should get back to the bunker, she looked up to meet both Emily and Cas' eyes. It was rather surreal to have both of them sitting together at a table with her. She'd really missed Emily.
"Amber, we should get back to the bunker," was Cas' neutral tone. Amber knew he was right...and by the looks of it, so did Emily.
"Yeah, I need to get going, too. The next bus is the last one before six am and I don't want to walk the three miles home tonight."
Turning to Cas, Amber was thinking about asking Cas if they could drop Emily off, when Cas simply stated, "We can drop you off before we head back home."
Amber wondered if she had somehow transmitted her thought to Cas or if he was just being nice to her friend.
Mulling this over for a moment, Emily was weighing the pros and cons of this offer.
"We can drop you off in your general neighborhood if you'd feel more comfortable," was Cas' offer, eyes wide and earnest, sensing the girl's hesitation.
Looking mildly suspicious at how accurately he voiced her concern, Emily ventured her acceptance of this.
"OK, this can work. Hey, what about the car you drove here?" was Emily's inquiry. This all had sounded rather false, but she couldn't see how this ended up mattering. She still felt there was something Amber was hiding, but it did Emily no harm, so she let it go.
"Oh, my dad will drive me back here tomorrow and he'll get it running. He's great with cars," was Amber's reply. At least part of this statement was true.
Emily scanned the parking lot and there were at least fifty cars there still parked. So, perhaps this statement was true.
"Amber, we should get back soon," Cas repeated his earlier words.
Emily, reading their need to leave, offered, "Let's get going."
Amber, having no idea how this was all going to go down at the bunker, couldn't agree more.
꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ A ꧂
Descending the stairs into the bunker, Amber led the way, followed by Cas. Her eyes scanning her environment, darting to see who was in the War Room. Not spotting anyone, Amber and Cas quietly descended the stairs, with Amber keeping a constant look out for any movement.
This unexpected occurrence had made them unwitting co-conspirators. The two of them discussed the incident in great length as they rode back to the bunker. Its sudden occurrence, Amber's complete inability to control it, how it felt…
Driving back in the dark, moving past the familiar landscape, unrecognizable in the dark, Amber had reluctantly shared with Cas her worry over how Sam and Dean would take this. After everything that happened earlier in the day she feared this would end in another fight...at the very least.
Cas had listened to her and felt torn. On one hand he didn't want her to get into trouble with the brothers. He didn't like it when that happened even though he recognized the necessity and the reasoning behind it. Yet, he felt more and more protective over Amber. And he knew how incidental and unplanned tonight had been.
"I don't think it's wise to keep this from Sam and Dean, Amber. It's related to your powers and they're adamant to learn everything new that comes up. You know this," he had told her as he kept his eyes on the road. "Sooner or later we'll have to let them know. And when that happens, having kept it from them...That won't end well. Not for you and not for me. We need to be honest about this."
Cas had watched from the corner of his eye the girl's hopeful face falling at his words. He was looking at her sad and resigned face. Feeling a tugging in his heart he added, "But we don't have to do it tonight. After all they were both in their rooms, possibly asleep, when I realized you were gone. It can wait till tomorrow. Dean will be calmer by then and we'll explain everything together."
"Really?" Amber had asked the angel, turning to look at him with a mixture of surprise and gratefulness.
"Really. After all I'm the one responsible for training your power. None of you know how angel grace works. This teleporting is part of your power. And we have discussed they're getting stronger. As you grow into your Nephilim nature, unintentional incidents like this are to be expected. Sam and Dean know this, too. But even if they don't, they will listen to me."
"Will we tell them about Emily, too?" Amber had asked. She had watched the angel's eyebrows frowning for a few seconds as he considered her question.
"I don't see why we have to," he had answered.
Amber had remained gaping at him now in sheer disbelief. She had given this a go but never really believed Cas would have agreed to keep this from Sam and Dean. With this little detail out of their story she couldn't see Sam or even Dean getting mad at her. Reading the angel's wish to protect her, and keep her out of trouble, she had felt her affection for the angel grow. The more time they spent together the more she saw why he had ended up being as good as family for her brothers. And now for her, too. Feeling his intention, like a presence equal to his vessel's corporal self, this intention had a tactile existence. Amber could feel it swaddling her in his concern like an oversized down comforter. She couldn't help but smile at this angel who was so literal and so earnest. Settling into her seat, leaning back as she enjoyed the soothing darkness, she could hardly believe there was a time when she'd hated him. His pure intentions were so obvious to her now.
"If you weren't driving I'd hug the crap out of you right now," Amber had said with a wide smile.
Castiel's expected retort, of how it's not possible for a hug to cause spontaneous voiding of the bowels, but that he understood her meaning, a kind smile on his face as he glanced at her, were the last words they'd exchanged.
The rest of the drive back to the bunker had been in companionable silence, each allowing the dark to hold them close, their thoughts being revealed to each other as a livestream of meaning layering over the road, like a transparency of thought and light. It would be only later that Amber would realize this happened. The naturalness of this exchange was their common grace and their understanding which needed no words. Cas was fully aware of this and accepted this maturing ability, which Amber was using, simply as a milestone.
Upon entering the bunker, Amber realized she felt subtly changed, augmented.
"What if they see us, Cas?" Amber was reasonably worried about her brothers. Mainly Dean. This teleporting thing, she just didn't see him taking this well.
"Amber, we discussed this. I will explain to them what happened and how responsible you were in calling me." Cas' shadowed face was a pitch-black hole with this oddly cadenced voice reassuring her. Pausing as he watched Amber absorb his words, Cas saw her fully understanding his meaning. Seeing in the dark...and beyond...just a nifty angel thing.
"They're not in the War Room. They will not see us enter. However, I believe Claire is nearby. We will have to be quiet." Cas had lowered his voice to imbue his words with a quality denoting concealment.
"Oh god, you got that right," was all Amber whispered back. In that scenario, Claire would be a loose cannon and blow everything apart.
Raising his hand, and making a small gesture, they heard a smooth clanking sound as the several locks and wardings opened at his touch. The bunker's door opened with a smooth click and they entered.
Amber's apprehension diminished slightly when all she saw was darkness; no voices, no brothers, no Claire. Amber let out a breath she'd unknowingly been holding in.
Quietly they descended into the bunker, their steps careful and soundless.
Once at the bottom of the stair, Cas spoke to Amber, reassuring her and reiterating their plan.
Coming down the hallway, on her way to the kitchen, Claire heard them. At first she didn't know who they were. Their presence there made no sense. Amber and the brothers were in their rooms, Cas was...somewhere… Could the bunker have intruders?
Concealing herself against the wall, and peering into the War Room, Claire watched and understood more. Amber was returning from outside with Cas. What?! Amber was outside the bunker with Cas? Confused, but ever the opportunist, she remained hidden taking in this information.
Claire felt a surge of anger start simmering inside her. The image of Amber talking conspiratorially with the angel… the angel that wore her father's body. It was obvious they had been somewhere together. And she couldn't really tell why this bugged her. She wouldn't go anywhere with Cas. Not even if someone paid her. Yet, this image in front of her made her stomach churn and her teeth grind. Creeping along the hallway, leading to the main floor, Claire kept herself hidden as she tried to listen in, but it was impossible. She couldn't even hear what they were whispering. Shit! She needed to find out what was happening. How and why had Amber managed to leave the bunker?
Claire was sure the brothers had no idea about this. Or Cas and Amber wouldn't be so secretive. Claire briefly considered how this incident could lead to a blowup. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the angel and Amber and the burning knot in her stomach tightened. She didn't wish to see Amber in trouble, hell, she'd lied for her to avoid just that… But right now Claire seriously considered letting this slip. She did like seeing Dean being defied after all. Letting the image in front of her burn to ashes, along with any shred of regret, Claire kept watching. Amber was now headed her way, so Claire decided to resume her search for a snack. She headed into the kitchen.
Cas felt Claire's presence nearby, but he didn't know if they had been observed. He would keep an eye on her tomorrow just in case. Dean and Sam would know soon.
Walking towards the hallway, to go to her room, Amber heard someone in the kitchen and decided to do reconnaissance...and if need be...damage control.
And she'd text Kyle that she was back at the bunker. She wondered if Kyle would do what she asked, if he'd really go to Reno.
꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ A ꧂
"I have bacon. You want bacon?" Dean looked at Claire as she entered the kitchen to get her first coffee of the morning.
Head at a cocked angle, Claire was thinking about the scene from last night, Cas and Amber whispering as they returned to the bunker.
"I don't know. Maybe. But you know who will really want some bacon?" shifting her body to lean into the kitchen's door frame. Dean, hearing her words, but dividing his focus on cooking the bacon, flipping hashbrowns and listening to Claire, only partially heard her deliver her rehearsed phrase, "Amber and Cas since they were up so late. They didn't get back to the bunker until after 11 o'clock."
Listening to Claire, and working the stove, Dean's mind slowly registered what she'd said.
Looking up at her, his mind still trying to make sense of this statement, stopped what he was doing and looked the blonde in the face.
"Come again?" Claire had Dean's full attention now and his body was tensing up, the confused anger that masked most of his emotions, stamped on his face.
"How come Amber gets to leave the bunker and I don't?" Claire asked, arms crossing in front of her chest.
Dean gaped at the blonde as he tried to figure out what she was on about. Amber out of the bunker? With Cas? That made no sense. "You sure you weren't having a dream?" He asked sarcastically. "Amber wasn't out last night. She can't go out just like you can't."
"You tell her that," Claire quipped. "You know what? I think I'm gonna go with cold cereal today."
Moving to retrieve the cereal box from the cabinet where it was kept, Claire watched Dean from the corner of her eye. He looked reluctant to believe her and mad at the same time. Filling her bowl with cereal, and returning the box to its cabinet, she went for the milk.
"What's up, Dean? Can't believe your precious angel and your daughter snuck out?" She asked as she sat at the table, spoon swirling the floating oat cereal and shamrock marshmallows into the milk.
Dean, his irritation growing, turned to look at her, leaning against the counter, next to the stove.
"You saw them entering the bunker from the garage?" he asked in a curt tone.
"Yep. And they spent a few minutes talking quietly in the stupid map-table room," Claire said while munching on a spoonful of cereal.
Dean considered this. What reason did Claire have to lie? Amber was her friend. She wouldn't just accuse her of random things right? Could Amber really be careless enough to sneak out? Especially considering she had spent a couple of minutes over his knee? But then again, why would Claire rat her out? Hearing the angry, sizzling sound, Dean turned around sharply.
"Son of a bitch!"
Salvaging whatever he could from the slightly burned bacon and hashbrowns, he served them on the platter he had already set aside/ Turning off the heat on the stove, he practically threw the pan in the sink.
Amber, who had just entered the kitchen, grimaced at the loud noise and smell of burned bacon that had now filled the room.
"Easy on the pan, Dean! God, it's too early for this much noise," she grumbled as she moved to the coffee pot.
Turning to look at her, Dean practically pinned her where she stood with an intense glare.
Amber, lowering the hand she'd raised to retrieve a mug from the cabinet, looked at her oldest brother, worry engulfing her heart.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked reluctantly.
"Did you leave the bunker last night?" Dean asked, curtly, his voice deep, anger right on the edge of intimidating.
"Leave?" Amber asked, feeling her face flushing. Damn it, this wasn't going the way she and Cas had planned it.
"Yes, Amber! Leave! Leave the bunker! Yes or no?" Dean snapped, impatiently.
Claire watched this with a satisfied smirk plastered on her face. She should feel bad for outing Amber like this for no reason. Yet she didn't.
"This… This is not something I can answer with a simple yes or no," Amber said in what she hoped was a placating tone.
Entering the kitchen, Sam instantly felt the tension. Dean's familiar stance of offense was in contrast to Amber's stance of defence...with Claire watching as if she was streaming competitive gaming.
"Well, you'd better, cause that's all I care about right now! Did you or did you not leave the bunker last night?" Dean repeated his question.
Sam turned from worried to surprised, listening to Dean's words. "What?" He asked, turning to his sister.
"I can explain Dean" were Cas' words, making everyone jump.
Amber's heart clenched and unclenched, and then remembering she was going to have to talk with Dean about this...she felt the painful restriction wrap her heart once more. Thank god Cas showed up.
"Dean, I can tell you more about this. Talking in the library is best." The angel's eyes were round and earnest, his forehead a river of parallel lines.
The three siblings and Cas shuffled out of the kitchen, Dean doing a final sweep of the knobs on the stove and oven.
Then Claire was alone. She instantly felt herself cut out of this.
Having arrived a year after Alex, this was exactly the same exclusion she felt with Jody and Alex's bond. She was not part of their history and felt she was inserted awkwardly when they did try to include her. This pain translated into a snide attitude...which was the armour Claire wore over her heart. Seeing the three men and Amber walking out of the kitchen without another word, she dropped her spoon in the bowl, a swirl of emotions stopping her eating. Why couldn't she have this many adults looking after her, caring about her? And why did she suddenly care? A few days back she'd given anything to get rid of Dean and Sam and this bunker shit-deal. And now she was all of a sudden angry they didn't pay much attention to her? Frustration and confusion, on top of everything else, made her get to her feet and walk towards the stairs leading to the upper level. She could maybe hear something if she got up close enough. Hugging the wall as she made her way along the perimeter of the room, inching her way close to the library stairs, Claire listened intently for any raised voices. She was sure there'd be raised voices.
Listening intently, she strained to hear anything. It was frustratingly quiet. She heard the occasional muffled sound of a voice, but not a distinct word. Then suddenly she was pelted by Dean's "Whoa, whoa, whoa."
"Here we go," she mumbled to herself. And then, just as it started, it stopped. Muffled talking, calm voices… No yelling, no nothing.
Claire felt she was waiting for a long time. In reality it had been less than twenty minutes. From Claire's crouched and hidden presence on the cold stairs, this uncomfortable suspension of time floated low and heavy like fog at dawn.
Then it all changed. She heard the wooden screech of a chair being pushed away from a table and people getting up. Retracing her steps, face glancing back to make sure she wasn't spotted, Claire headed back into the kitchen, seating herself in front of her bowl of soggy cereal.
Calm and reassured faces were met by inquisitive, blue eyes as Claire looked up, assessing their mood. Not a frown could be seen among them. Claire's eyes focused on Amber. She watched her pouring herself the cup of coffee she never got to a few minutes ago.
When Amber finished filling her mug and walked to sit at the table she turned to look at Claire for the first time. Her gaze was cold and angry.
So she knew, Claire thought. Of course she'd know. Turning to see Sam and Dean nonchalantly going about their morning activities, cooking some more breakfast, serving it and then joining her and Amber at the table.
What? That's it? Claire watched in disbelief as everyone just resumed their morning without skipping a beat in the measure. Pouring himself another cup of coffee, Dean was watching Claire look confused and suspicious. Not understanding her conflicting emotions, he decided to be friendly and offer her coffee.
"Hey Claire, pass your cup over here and I'll top it off for you," was his jocular offer, smile on his face, coffee pot in hand waiting to fill up her cup.
Amber looked up at Claire, watching her face. This was the face of the person who'd outed her to her brothers. She'd thought they were friends. The sense of betrayal hardened her against Claire. Sure, Amber was going to tell her brothers, and she and Cas were going to tell them this morning, but the way it all happened, Claire was trying to get Amber into trouble. She actively threw Amber in harm's way and appeared to enjoy watching this turmoil unfold.
Keeping this all to herself, Amber simply glared at Claire, who was looking confused and upset by Dean's offer of coffee.
Sam watched this not knowing exactly what he was seeing, he decided he'd keep an eye on the girls. Now that he understood how Dean came into his knowledge, he'd understand if Amber was resentful of Claire.
Becoming upset by the apparent lack of consequences for Amber leaving the bunker, something she knew she'd catch hell for, Claire's anger was growing.
"So, leaving in the middle of the night is no biggie around here. Good to know. Duly noted," she sneered.
In between bites, Dean looked up at Sam, an understanding passing between the two, and then he met Amber's face, a pensive expression mirroring Sam's .
Clearing his voice, Dean needed to stop this right here.
"Claire, what happens between Amber and us is between us. It's been dealt with, case closed."
Claire felt her mouth dipping open at the unfairness of it all. Had it been her sneaking in last night, she doubted all she'd get was a talking to and then a frigging breakfast feast. Lips pursing together and shooting to her feet, she offered no response as she angrily fled the kitchen, her cereal bowl and cup of coffee abandoned.
Castiel felt the rush of air as Claire stormed past him. Silently standing in the doorway of the kitchen, unintentionally blending into the sights and sounds, Cas had watched this unravel, his focus remaining on Claire and Amber. They were both radiating waves of anger..and in Claire's case, desperate sadness. He couldn't understand why, though. Amber had seemed pleased with how the discussion with Sam and Dean had gone. Then his memory rewound the discussion they'd just had in the library. He remembered Amber sitting in a chair, he by her side, Sam and Dean towering over them, demanding answers.
"Amber's power has been getting stronger. When it happened, she called me to tell me she had accidentally teleported to the cafe outside of the Target. She called me to tell me she needed a ride back to the bunker. I went and picked her up. She stayed safe and we came back."
The two brothers listened to this stripped-down narrative and had so many questions.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You teleported?" Dean was looking at Amber, face screwed up with shocked confusion.
"Yeah… I guess it was like when I escaped Crowley and Rowena… Only this time I wasn't running for my life," Amber explained tentatively.
"So you just zapped out of here?"
"I didn't mean to, Dean. It was an accident," Amber explained trying to keep her voice even and steady. "I called Cas to come pick me up since I knew he would understand about this sort of thing." Amber was trying to explain herself, not wanting to get into trouble, especially not for something she didn't do on purpose. And she was automatically defensive with Dean.
Sam, seeing all of this, had questions of his own.
"Why the cafe?"
Amber sighed. She knew this was still so fresh for them all. "I wish I knew… All I know is I was thinking about Emily. How I really wanted to visit with her and how I didn't get to, and I guess... I guess I was just wishing I'd had more time to see her...and then I was there. That's all I know. I swear." Amber was feeling open and revealed. She didn't have anything else to add...to her story... to her defense...to anything.
Eyes round, she looked from one brother then the other, seeking reassurance she was believed. She was telling the truth and she had no idea how this would go.
"Well, Amber, your powers are growing. Stuff like this is bound to happen." Sam felt this was a major step forward for Amber and she'd called for Cas' help...an equally large step forward. He'd noticed their relationship growing, with Amber including Cas whenever she could. It had made his heart happy.
"We need to get this under control ASAP," Dean said curtly.
Amber turned to him with raised eyebrows, irritation spiking.
"It's not like I can flip a switch Dean! I blew up a damn wall before I got control of the power surges…"
"This… this is not the same!" Turning to Cas, he added, "I mean it, Cas. You focus all future training sessions on her controlling this!"
"Dean!" Amber snapped, making her oldest brother turn his stormy gaze at her. "Stop! You're acting like I did something wrong… I didn't do this on purpose! I can't control it…"
"That's exactly the point!" Dean snapped back louder. His own angry tone registering in his ears for the first time, he paused to take a deep breath, bringing a hand to scrub at his face. When he spoke again, his voice was a bit calmer.
"Amber, I'm not angry with you. I don't blame you… But the fact that you can't control this scares the shit out of me. What if you'd teleported to somewhere else? What if someone saw you? What if there are demons tailing you and they realised this happened… if they'd followed you? That's why we can't just sit on our hands with this!"
Seeing his point, and knowing he had hit the bullseye with his 'what-if's, Amber nodded. She was just glad he wasn't blaming her for this.
Sam noticed his brother's attempt to calm down and explain to Amber what he was thinking. It made him form a tiny smile. Dean had come a long way since they'd met Amber and Sam was thankful for that.
"This is not just a liability, though, Dean. I mean… Yes, until Amber learns to completely control it, it can be… but it can be a huge asset for her, too. Immediate way out of danger. An 'emergency exit' always on her… That's good news," Sam brought up, trying to calm Dean down a bit.
Dean considered this for a few seconds before nodding, his tense shoulders slightly relaxing.
"Yeah… I guess you're right."
"Yes, it's good news, guys! Especially with things escalating everywhere…" Amber said emphatically.
"What are you talking about?" Dean asked, brow wrinkling worriedly.
"I talked to Ty last night. And to Kyle," Amber said, pausing to gauge their reactions. "On the phone," she added hastily at the instant raise of two sets of eyebrows.
"He told me there have been some "freaky" deaths down there. Bodies reeking of sulfur. He also told me Josh was in town, probably investigating this. And then Kyle… I spoke with Kyle, and he basically told me that anywhere I've ever been, the demon activity has spiked… Everywhere! Sioux Falls, Reno, here in Kansas. In Denver. In goddamn Emerson…!"
Sam and Dean exchanged a worried look as they listened to this new information.
"Well, it's not like we didn't see that coming. It's the very reason we don't want you out of the bunker and out of our sight," Sam remarked. And despite this being true, despite knowing and expecting things like this, getting actual confirmation was jarring.
"And this is why we need to get your zapping out of here under control," Dean added, his tone tense.
"We will, Dean," Cas spoke for the first time. "I'll also check if the angels have noticed these spikes in demon activity. See what they think is causing them and what they know."
"When did you say you spoke to Ty and Kyle?" Sam asked, now appearing thoughtful.
"Last night. A few minutes before I teleported really. That's why I didn't tell you as soon as I learned. I planned to tell you first thing today. I promise," Amber hastened to explain. After all the times she had hidden things from her brothers, the last thing she wanted was for them to think she was doing this again. She knew not to. And she chose not to. At least for the most part. Knowing Kyle paid her a visit at the parking-lot, or what her suspicions about him were, was probably not the best idea. Not before she knew for sure. Sharing this now would only give Dean a good excuse to kill Kyle. Or at the very least torture him. Of that she was certain.
"And I'm glad to hear that. It's nice knowing you trust us enough to come to us with these things. Which makes me wonder… Why did you call Cas last night? Why not us?"
At this, Amber let out a small scoff.
"After how well yesterday went?" An eye roll, and strong sarcasm in her voice, made her point obvious, but she toned it down. Meeting their eyes, she added, " I was afraid that you guys would…" here Amber's voice faltered, "... shoot first and ask questions later."
Sam watched her face flushing as she answered him. He felt his stomach clenching at her words. His eyes met Dean's who quickly averted his gaze.
"Amber… We'll never "shoot" first and ask questions later. Not when we don't know what has happened," was Sam's concerned assertion. He didn't object to what ended up happening yesterday, but he felt bad about it having to happen.
"Amber, I don't want you to ever feel like you can't come to us for something, 'cause you can," Dean said, his tone deep and sincere.
Amber's strong disbelief in Dean's words led her to outright test his statement. She highly doubted he'd actually do any of it.
"So, I'd like to go have coffee with Emily? Amber threw out there, her face a mask.
"Hell, no," Dean shook his head emphatically. Of course this was his response. It was expected.
"But you just said…" Amber's voice was accusing, her eyes narrowed with annoyed disbelief.
"I said you can come to us for stuff, not that we'd agree to it," Dean interrupted, pulling the carpet right out from under his offer.
"God, you're impossible," Amber groaned. Amber put her hands on her hips, frowning at her brother, confronting his words.
"And you're a brat," Dean informed her.
Shaking his head at the theatrics, Sam tried bringing the conversation back into focus.
"Amb, I'm serious. No matter what's going on in your life, now or ever, you can always come to us. We're here for you. You're not alone anymore," Sam enunciated these last words looking at Amber seriously. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you called Cas. I'm glad you trust him and that you acted responsibly seeking his help… I just need to make sure you know we're here for you, too. No matter what."
Amber stared back at Sam thoughtfully. She knew he meant every word. She also knew he and Dean would in no way have acted as calmly and discreetly as Cas did in this situation.
"Had it been anything else… I would've. I would have called you. But with my power and anything new that comes, up you guys tend to overreact and over-worry. And I end up being more confused about whatever's happening than I was before I talked to you. Cas knows these things. And he's freakishly calm. That's what I needed last night. Someone to calm me down and explain to me what the hell happened. That's all."
Sam listened to his sister carefully and found some reassurance in her words. "I get that. And, like I said, I'm glad you trusted Cas with this. We're lucky to have him with us. Especially now."
Amber turned to look at the angel, who was standing right next to her this whole time. "I guess we are."
"Allright, chick-flick moment over!" Dean announced. "I'm hungry. Let's get back to breakfast. We'll talk more about this later. In the meantime you two are to start working your asses off to get the zapping-out under control. Clear?"
With a roll of her eyes Amber got to her feet. "Yes, Dean." She started walking to the library stairs when she suddenly paused. Turning to look at her oldest brother she asked, "How did you know?"
"How did I know what?" Dean asked right back a bit awkwardly.
"That I was out last night, Dean," Amber spelled it out impatiently. She watched his face turning slightly uncomfortable.
Dean briefly considered lying but saw no use in doing so. Claire obviously craved this confrontation and even if he did cover for her, he was certain she'd try to rub it in Amber's face sooner than later. "Claire saw you guys coming back in last night."
Sam watched Amber's face shifting in a matter of seconds from shock to sadness and finally to cold anger. Then, just as fast she schooled her expression to a neutral one, and she walked ahead. Cas, Sam, and Dean pulled up the rear keeping some distance from Amber.
Letting Amber take the lead down the stairs, the three adults exchanged knowing looks.
"What are we gonna do?" Dean said, reflecting the obvious conundrum they faced.
"Dean, Amber is doing what is most important, she's training her powers and trusting me to guide her. If she continues like this, she will get control of this teleporting much the way she's achieved control over her power surges," Cas ressured.
Sam and Dean looked at him, slightly horrified, that their collective future rested on the shoulders of this 16 year old girl and slightly-odd angel.
Not finding anything useful to add to the matter, Dean brought up the second obvious issue.
"What's with Claire and the cold war? Where did that come from?"
Not knowing what to do about this, and seeing this volatile alliance between Amber and Claire shifting like infantry troops covering ground over sinkholes and quicksand, Sam was wondering the same thing. Why would Claire turn on Amber?
Cas appeared pensive for a few seconds, before attempting an explanation.
"I am not sure exactly what is going on, but Claire feels very unstable. She's struggling intensely. Her anger is fluctuating and her emotions are shifting all over the place ever since she came here."
"What do you mean," Dean asked, not having a reference point for Claire other than volatile and erratic.
"Claire seems to have strong feelings about how you interact with Amber," the angel relayed. He could see that there was more to this and he was still deciphering this more articulately.
"Why would Claire care about how I interact with Amber?" Dean asked, more confused than he was a minute ago.
"Dean, consider that as far as Claire is concerned, Amber has a dad...you. She no longer has a dad...and there is this guy who looks like her dad, but who's not, helping Amber out." Sam, watching Dean's face to see if his explanation had made sense, shrugged his shoulders. "Seems pretty obvious, don't you think?"
Dean turned to look at Sam as if he had grown a second head. "Obvious? You call that shit obvious? And since when does Claire, of all people, want grown-ups looming over her stubborn ass? She's been fighting us tooth and nail ever since we met her!"
"Challenging us? Claire is testing us...she tests everyone. Since when did her trust in authority pay off, huh? Look at her life, Dean. She lost her family because of angels, she got put into the system and pretty much screwed by the very people who were supposed to be looking out for her best interest, and she's not had much reason to trust that the "authority" means what they say. Jody's about the only authority she has a reason to trust."
"And now she's seeking to find out if we can be trusted, too," Cas added. "And I think that's what drove her to tell you about Amber. She perceived a double-standard in your rules. She would perceive this as an 'injustice' of her not being allowed out yet Amber is. She may also be seeking to see how far each of us would go for each other and, in turn, for her. Does she count?" Cas looked uncomfortable delivering this observation. He was the inception of Claire's catastrophic, downward spiral.
Sam considered this. "I think you've got a point, Cas. Not to mention how she's not buying any part of our story. She's seeing through our cover story and connecting the dots. I don't know what she thinks, but she's not buying that you're Amber's dad." Sam was speaking to Dean, letting him know they had trouble on their hands. "To her, we're nothing but overbearing lyers."
"Son of a bitch," Dean mumbled. "I thought we were past this shit now that Amber is finally letting us in… And now we have to go through this all over again with Barbie?"
"I think we more than owe it to her, Dean," Cas said in a quiet voice, as the three men neared the kitchen's door.
꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ A ꧂
Squeezing off rounds, her shoulders braced and both eyes open, Claire was feeling the adrenaline surge from firearms practice, and this competitive environment was spiking her upset, too. Amber hadn't gotten into trouble for leaving the bunker. And Amber was better at hitting her target than Claire currently was..and this combo was toxic to her attitude.
"Dean, your gun is off. When was the last time you sighted this thing in?" was Claire's disgruntled sass.
"Trouble's with the operator, not the weapon," Dean commented. "Your head's not where it should be, so pull it out."
"This is bullshit," Claire's bad attitude was peaking as it had been the entire morning. Amber had come back into the kitchen for breakfast, they all ate together, not an angry word or look of upset...nothing! Amber got away with leaving the bunker and she wasn't allowed out.
"Fix your legs. Adjust your grip. And focus!" Dean snapped. He was getting tired of Claire's bitchy attitude and the pissing contest between her and Amber since their training session started.
"Pretend you're throwing knives at my back, Claire. Shouldn't be hard," Amber sneered, watching Claire's spread go all over the place and only getting worse with every round.
"Shut up!" Claire snapped, her eyes never leaving her target. Magazine empty, she took off her ear protection and slammed the gun down angrily.
"Hey!" Dean barked, shocked at the dangerous manner Claire was handling the gun.
Claire ignored him and moved back, leaning against the wall, arms crossing in front of her chest. They were all jerkwads, and Claire felt betrayed and upset...even if she wasn't clear about her feelings. Her reactions said it all.
Amber turned to Dean with an annoyed look.
"That's all she gets? A 'hey'?" She asked incredulously. The one and only time she'd ever done that in front of Dean she'd earned some impressive smacks and a hell of a scolding.
Dean closed his eyes trying hard to keep a hold on his temper.
"Yeah, Dean? That's all? It's not like I left the bunker or anything," Claire said in a mockingly sweet tone.
Dean felt like he was in a territorial dispute between Middle Eastern countries with no solution in sight.
"You two need to shut up and focus!" Dean snapped. "Another full magazine each. Amber you do yours and go straight to meet Cas for your session. Today you'll do three hours of training instead of two.
Amber understood this, and accepted the plan they'd discussed.
Claire, hearing Amber and Cas would spend the afternoon training together and watching this agreeable compliance between her and Dean, felt her jealousy and hurt ramp up. She had to get out of here. She couldn't stand being near these two.
"I'm outta here," Claire declared.
"The hell you are! What did I say? Another magazine full!"
"Got to change my tampon," Claire threw this out, looking over her right shoulder, as she headed towards the door to leave. Dean, at a complete loss of what to say or do when these words echoed in the ring, watched her leaving eyes following her in amazement at her ballsiness.
Turning back to Amber, she was looking at him in unmasked disbelief, that he'd let Claire get away with so much. Dean looked away, not knowing how to justify his tolerating this from Claire. He knew why. Hell, Sam and Cas knew why, too, but how would he make sense of this to Amber. He wouldn't. She'd just have to suck it up.
"Mind your own business. You heard me, another magazine full," Dean barked, tired already and the day wasn't even half over.
Amber, not knowing how to address this, just shook her head. Dean was such a sellout.
Putting the safety on, Amber loaded more ammo into the magazine. Checking the safety was off, Amber realigned herself mentally. Turning towards the target, focusing and squeezed off all six rounds, they hit the target dead center in the chest. Her spread was getting tighter and tighter...and her anger seemed to improve her focus.
"There," was all she said, as she placed her weapon on the table and took off her ear protection, heading towards the door. Dean didn't say a word. He had no words. He needed a drink.
Claire walked briskly down the corridor away from the firing range. Her nostrils flaring with every ragged breath she took in, hands clenched into fists, her steps loud and fast. In her angered state she was struck by the narrowly-open door on her right. Halting, she took a few steps back and glanced inside, realising it was Dean's room. He never left his door open. Through the slight opening she could see a tiny view into his room, strategically directing her sight to the nightstand and the keys to the Impala just sitting there.
Anger and opportunity combine for some bad decisions, and Claire wouldn't be the first person to walk into such a combustive choice. Not thinking at all, just upset and angry, Claire quickly assessed the hallway. No one. Instantly acting on this, she darted into Dean's room, snatching his keys and headed out, closing the door behind her.
Her adrenaline increasing, heart beating faster with the fear and excitement of what she was about to do, Claire headed towards the garage. She walked carefully past the kitchen, where she could hear Sam and Cas talking. That was good. It meant the upper level was empty and she could slip out to the garage unnoticed.
Reaching the garage, she was reminded of the many classic cars they had. They were covered and cared for, each in peak condition from Dean's labor of love. It was like a fucking car show! Glancing around her she spotted the small switch on the wall right next to the metallic garage door. Jogging to it she flipped it and watched the door slowly rising.
Heart beating faster with every second, she walked to the Impala, climbed in, inserted the key, and turned it in the ignition. The power of the engine, the 275 V-8 horsepower engine, rumbled beneath her power, the rhythmic tremors that traveled through the car into her own body, were intoxicating. Releasing the emergency brake, and putting it into reverse, Claire backed it up and drove it out. She felt this exhileration descend upon her. She had no destination, no plan, no goal. She just wanted out of the bunker. She just needed to drive alone and clear her head. She didn't let her brain process what would happen when the Winchesters found out she left. Hell, she doubted they'd even notice her being gone.
With that thought flooding her brain, she pressed on the gas pedal, feeling the sheer brawn of this car. It was magnificent in its strength! Heading towards the backroad, which led away from the bunker, Claire just drove forward taking in what felt like the first real breath of fresh air in so many days.
Still in the kitchen, Cas, stopped dead in his tracks, feeling the change in the bunker's energy signatures. Feeling the sudden void as Claire was speeding away. His forehead lines multiplied, his eyes half-closed in concern and empathy. Claire's fleeting energy tasted desperate, angry, sad. His concern churned together with worry and fear at all the possible outcomes that played out in his mind. He had to let Dean and Sam know. In her emotionally unstable state it was imperative to find her and bring her home as soon as possible. An invisible clock ticking loudly in his mind, he rushed out of the kitchen.
꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ A ꧂
The Challenger was eating up the miles, Dean at the wheel.
"She's up ahead Dean. She's slowed down so if we keep going we'll overtake her within the next six miles," was Cas' encouragement to Dean. Silently gripping the steering wheel, Dean was the epitome of compressed, angry tension. Sam looked pensive, but was equally silent.
Twenty-three minutes earlier they'd all realized Claire was gone.
Sam with him, Cas had announced Claire's escape from the bunker as Dean was coming out of the gun range, already steamed from morning target practice. Claire and Amber had both been pains in his ass. He'd been tight-lipped and frowning. Upon Cas' announcement, of Claire going AWOL, Dean had clamped down even harder on his anger and frustration.
And this all just kept coming.
"Sam, track her phone and we can catch up to her, keep an eye on her, make sure no cops pull her over. What was she thinking?!" Dean was barking orders, situational containment his default, issuing directives and triaging their next move. Heavy responsibility had become hard wired in his thought processing. And God,...he was going to kill her!
Looking foolish, Sam met Dean's eyes with a nauseous feeling.
"I can't Dean..." and was cut off by Dean.
"What d'ya mean, you can't?" was Dean's bark. Sam didn't tell him 'no' when Sam was obviously capable.
"Dean, you took Claire's phone. You have it. It's here in the bunker."
"Son of a bitch!" Dean yelled. "Dammit! Okay… Just… Let me get my keys. We'll track her down the OG way."
With these words he rushed to his room, opened his door, and headed to the bedside table he always left the keys on. Only they weren't there. When his brain registered what he was not seeing, his eyes enlarged.
"No! Oh, hell no!"
Shooting out of his room, passing right by Sam and Cas, who still stood in the corridor outside the firing range, he went straight to the garage. Cas and Sam followed him, sensing the urgency and need to know.
The empty spot where the Impala had been parked yesterday gaped back at him tauntingly. Dean clasped a palm to his face in disbelief. The Impala? She took his Impala?
Scrubbing his hand over his face, thoughts stampeding through his brain, his anger intensifying, he turned to land a hard kick to the closest wall.
"Fuck!"
Catching up to Dean, Sam and Cas were just entering the War Room right as Dean descended the stairs from the garage level.
"Dean?" Sam asked, worriedly by Dean's clipped body language.
"She took Baby!" was Dean's barked announcement.
Sam gaped at him, not believing his own ears. What was going on in that girl's mind? Did she have a deathwish?
Cas sensed anger rolling off of Dean in thick waves. The minutes were ticking by and they were still in the bunker, Claire's energy signature was fading more and more as the miles between her and the bunker piled up.
"We need to leave," the angel said, defining the urgency of their situation.
"The further she goes the harder it will be for me to guide us to her."
"Dean, we can take the Challenger. It's our best choice to catch up with her," Sam offered as a solution in their current standstill.
Turning on his heels, heading back to the garage, Dean only growled, "Get moving!"
꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ W ꧂꧁ T ꧂꧁ A ꧂
This was not our usual chapter. Kind of fun to change-it-up.
What is your favorite scene of the chapter and why?
How is Cas' increasing presence in Amber's life changing the story?
How differently could this have gone had you written it?
We have so much more for all y'all. As always, any kind of feedback is more than welcome! Now if you guys, decide to indulge us to some answers too, we'll be ecstatic!
Love you all,
~MarionLuth & LauWhisperer