Title: Leap of Faith (Part Five)

Author: fatedtoflames (DJ)

Pairing: Chastine

Rating: PG-13 thus far

Summary: Chas takes the ultimate leap of faith to help John.

Chas stared up at Balthazar for a few moments, stuttering helplessly.

"I'm, uh…I'm done with my filing, so I'll just get out of your way," he finally choked out, not having to work at the girl voice- his voice was already high-pitched out of fear. He attempted to move past Balthazar, but the man grabbed him roughly by the arm.

"What are you doing in here?" Balthazar asked venomously, using his free hand to slam the door shut- then lock it.

Damn.

"I…I had some filing that Jared wanted done before he got back, so I borrowed Miss Lindel's key…"

Balthazar leaned forward, grabbing a lock of Chas's hair and smelling it deeply. Chas was praying the whole time that he wouldn't pull on it, because with one harsh tug it could come off. Then he realized the absurdity of the fact that Balthazar was smelling his hair.

"Far too much hairspray…plastic compounds…glue…"

Balthazar yanked hard, and the wig painfully tore off, revealing Chas's unruly brown hair underneath. Then Balthazar's hand moved to Chas's torso, running roughly down his side.

"The smell of silicon…a stiff material through the shirt…" He said, grabbing onto the front of Chas's shirt and ripping it right down the front, revealing the corset and silicon fake breast inserts tucked into it.

"And if I'm not mistaken…a bit of extra baggage where there shouldn't be any," Balthazar growled, giving Chas's crotch a rough squeeze through his skirt. Chas yelped in surprise and jerked away, backing up toward the desk. Balthazar advanced on him, pushing him back against the desk, trapping him against it and leaning forward to whisper in his ear.

"And the smell of John Constantine simply permeates your every pore…"

Chas whimpered. Now, John, would be a good time to prove to me that you meant it when you said you'd be here for me.

"What did he send you for, hmm?" Balthazar asked, grabbing Chas's bag from him and dumping it out onto the desk.

"Files, files…all known half breeds…you've been a naughty, nosey boy," he murmured as Chas backed toward the door.

Balthazar reached out and grabbed Chas by the front of his corset, yanking him back to the desk and then shoving him down onto it. He stood between Chas's legs, and with one flip of his hand, a blade snapped out of his sleeve into his hand.

"You want to be a girl so bad…I can make it permanent," he said, slashing at Chas's skirt. "That is...unless you tell me everything I want to know about your deal with the reclusive exorcist…"

Chas scowled at him. "I'm not telling you a damn thing."

Balthazar smirked. "Thought so," he said, pulling Chas up off the table and slamming the blade down into the wood. Then he dragged Chas over to the large floor-to-ceiling windows- and literally shoved him through the middle one.

He didn't let go of Chas's corset- so now Chas was cut up, bloodied, and hanging 32 stories off the ground. He quite suddenly knew why all the big executives in the movies had their offices on the top floor- to shove people out of the windows.

"Tell me, boy…what did he want you to do here?" Balthazar asked as Chas struggled and panicked. When he received no answer, his expression darkened.

"Keep in mind, child…if I drop you from this height, there will be nothing left for a funeral. Answer the question."

A new voice suddenly came from inside the office. "Hand him over, Balthazar. Ask me the questions."

Chas could've kissed John right about then for showing up- but now John had to get him back on solid ground. And from the look on Balthazar's face, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Well, now that you're here, I have no use for the boy," Balthazar said with a shrug…

…And then he let go.

The last thing Chas saw as Balthazar's grip released him was the horrified look on John's face.

He let out a shriek as he fell, flailing, but unable to do anything to slow or stop his fall. He managed to reach the side of the building, but only succeeded in tearing up his fingers trying to get a grip on smooth glass and riveted steel.

He heard gunshots from above, and time was going so damn slow…then, quite suddenly, he felt something wrap around him- arms. Warm arms encircling his waist, holding him back, like a parachute.

The wind was so loud, but then there was an eerie whisper, and he felt warm breath against his ear when the voice spoke.

"Not your time, Chas…not your time."

Then it felt as if his soul had been slammed out of his body.

Darkness.

When Chas woke up, everything seemed to hurt. His head was pounding with pain, his fingers were burning, and every movement send sharp pains through every limb.

"Chas? You awake?"

He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to focus. When they did focus, the first thing he saw was John Constantine- and he realized that he was in a hospital room. He barely nodded, and John reached up, using a hand towel to wipe sweat from the boy's forehead.

"How you feelin'?"

Chas cleared his throat, trying to sit up a little more and finding it easier than he'd feared.

"I…I think I'm okay…just sore…"

"Exactly," John said, leaning forward. "Chas…you fell thirty-two stories, and you only have a few scratches and torn up fingertips."

Chas swallowed hard.

"What happened, Chas? No one could survive that. You hit a cement sidewalk, and they're letting you out of the hospital tonight."

Chas hesitated. Of all people, John would be the most likely to believe him if he said supernatural forces were involved. "John, uh…I had some help with that."

"What do you mean, help?"

"Someone…someone grabbed me while I was falling. Slowed me down before I hit," Chas explained, his voice slurred from being so tired. John nodded, looking suspicious.

"John…what, um…what happened after I fell?" Chas asked, yawning in mid-sentence. He could barely keep his eyes open.

"I'll explain it to you when you're semi-coherent, kid," John said, brushing Chas's brown curls back from his face. Chas nodded, the whole room getting blurry again. John hesitated, looking as if he wanted to say something, but then he stopped. Chas murmured something not quite clear to him or John, and John smiled.

"You know what, Chas? I've got a lot of work to do on this, so…I'm takin' you home. I'll be damned if I'm gonna leave you here where anyone can walk in. At least you'll have the protective spells there."

Chas felt himself being lifted from the bed into John's arms, and then the world spun into darkness again.