Thank you for all those who have been joining me on this journey. Thank you for all the help from my friends and colleagues.
Chapter Four
Beeping noises finally roused Lark from her drug induced slumber and she looked around the room realizing she was still in the hospital. She lay there a moment before the memories of what she had seen came rushing back to her. I need to get to Dean; she thought pulling the IV from her arm and removing the blood pressure cuff from the other one. Lark sat up but felt the world tilt sideways as a wave of dizziness overcame her for a moment. After taking a couple of slow breaths, she slid to the side of the bed and stood up, being careful to hold to the railing. Her legs felt rubbery, but she wasn't letting that stop her from breaking out of there. Her body protested the strain and movement, but she shoved the pain down not letting it stop her.
With that one thought in mind, Lark looked for clothes and only found the jeans and boots she was wearing figuring her shirt was trashed. After working the jeans up her legs and carefully settling them on her hips, she slipped her feet into her boots not bothering to tie them, just tucking the laces inside out of the way so she wouldn't trip. It wasn't too appealing, but since that was all she had, Lark adjusted the hospital gown over her upper body being mindful of the bandages and made her escape. With a quick glance out the door, she saw a stairwell not far from her room and made a bee line for it and slipped through the door before anyone saw her. She headed down the stairs as fast as she could go without falling since she wanted to get out of the hospital before someone noticed she was gone and sounded the alarm. Lark was sure she couldn't outrun the security guards if they found her.
Lark paused on one landing as dizziness and nausea swept over her making her break out in a sweat, but she wasn't giving up, she had to get to Dean. With sheer determination, Lark held onto the railing and worked her way the rest of the way down the steps to the ground floor. She was in luck and found it opened into a parking garage and hoped she could maybe find a car that had some clothes she could snitch. Watching for cameras, Lark crept down the shadowed, dark wall stopping to glace into vehicles as she went.
After nearly five minutes, her luck paid off and she found a Jeep that had zip out windows and doors and saw a gym bag in the passenger seat. One window had not been zipped all the way, so she was able to get it open enough to get the bag and see what was in it. She found a man's tank top and tee shirt and quickly changed into them, even thought they did have a stench about them and were too big. Lark ditched the gown and headed for a side door knowing she couldn't steal a ride here, since you had to pay to park and she had no money. She could feel stitches pulled and a dull ache throughout her body, but only paused long enough to be sure no one was around before leaving the hospital behind and limping away.
~DSCWIN~
At least the hospital was near downtown and she disappeared into the public keeping her head down while searching for a suitable ride. No one seemed to pay any attention to her as she limped down the street. Lark finally saw some restaurants that had valet parking and strolled towards the guys waiting to park cars. She kept an eye on the crowd and easily lifted several sets of keys hoping one would be a suitable ride.
Being sure not to attract any attention, she headed for the parking lot and glanced at the keys seeing one was for a BMW which she dropped since it was too flashy. The other was for a Honda Accord and decided it would do if she could find it. She didn't like to do this, but since she was desperate she had to do it to get to Sioux Falls. It seemed luck was on her side when she found the Accord parked in the back and near a side street that she could take out of the place. After glancing around and being sure the coast was clear, Lark unlocked the car and got in quickly cranking it and pulling out, heading for the exit. She didn't let the breath she was holding out until she was lost in traffic and away from the place.
Since the car had GPS, she typed in Sioux Falls and checked the quickest route to take. After fiddling with the setting on the GPS, Lark began to follow the directions and made it to the main road that led to the interstate. She gunned it once she was out on the interstate knowing every minute counted. She rolled down all the windows to let the cool air rush in; knowing the sedative she was given at the hospital was still in her system and was making her sluggish and weak. The injuries she had sustained in the crash were beginning to ache since she had no pain medication to take. Lark took long deep breaths as she concentrated on staying in her lane and watching for cops patrolling the interstates.
~DSCWIN~
Dean felt his stomach roll as he shifted in the bed. He blinked back some of the sleep and felt his body tremble slightly beneath the thick blankets. The door creaked open and Sam poked his head in smiling at his older brother who was gradually pushing himself up into a sitting position.
"Hey, you live." Sam said and Dean let out a grumble of annoyance; however he knew he would have done the same thing to both Sam and Christina if they had been in the same situation.
"God, do I feel like shit." Dean sighed throwing his legs over the edge of the bed happy he still had his pants on. The right side of his face felt tight and sore as he gingerly touched the faint traces of stitches on his skin.
"Well you sure don't look any better." Sam teased tossing a shirt on the bed next to his brother. Bobby's cooking some oatmeal. You think you can stomach some?"
"Yeah. I'll manage something. As long as it's not super sweet."
"Well, you know it's not since Bobby's cooking it." Despite still being sore, Dean let out a few weak chuckles before carefully pulling on his shirt grunting in pain.
~DSCWIN~
Traffic had lightened up and Lark was moving along with several truckers when she felt herself start to pass out. Knowing this wasn't a good thing, she checked the road signs and decided to stop at the next exit to walk around and try to let this pass. After exiting the interstate, she pulled into a gas station and into a parking space away from the main flow of things. Not knowing what else to do, she started searching the car for anything that she could use. Lark found some change under the seat and lucked out in finding a couple of dollars in the compartment between the seats. She popped the trunk and checked it and found a light jacket she quickly put on and zipped up. Thinking maybe some water would help, she headed for the entrance of the station and went in search of something she could drink. With the limited money, she looked over the choices and finally decided on a bottle of juice, hoping it would give her some energy. She paid for it and decided to use the restroom while she was there before getting back on the road.
Lark locked the door and stared at her reflection in the mirror thinking she looked worse then she thought. There was bruising along one side of her face and bandages stuck out from under the tee shirt near her shoulder. Her side was tender and very sore to the touch, so she figured her ribs were bruised but didn't think they were broken. She used the bathroom and turned on the cold water to wash her face and hands. She cupped her hand and drank some water, relishing in the coldness as it went down her throat. Knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, she headed out to get back on the road again and get as far as the gas would take her to Sioux Falls and then she'd figure something else out.
~DSCWIN~
Dean swallowed the last spoonful of oatmeal when his sister finally walked into the kitchen freezing and staring shamefully at Sam. He then watched as she tentatively took a bowl of oatmeal Sam handed her and set it on down on the table. Dean watched his sister play with the contents fighting to keep her eyes lowered.
"Well, I'm goin' out for supplies." Bobby said breaking the silence between the three siblings. "Need anythin' specific?"
"Something to help me sleep." Christina said braving a look at Bobby. Her voice was soft before it stopped as soon as her eyes fell on Sam. "Maybe a sorry card for Sam." she said her head lowering in shame.
"What..." Dean questioned looking confused at his siblings. "What happened?"
"She stabbed my arm." Sam said lifting his sleeve showing Dean a small piece of gauze taped to his skin. "It didn't go deep so I'm not worried about it. She thought I was Owens."
"Do you know what caused this?" Dean asked looking at his sister, more worried about her sanity then his own health.
"I was exhausted." Christina said softly taking a slow breath to keep her from crying. "I just closed my eyes for a minute and heard Owens' voice in my head. I turned and saw him wearing Sam's clothes telling me that I would never be free of him. I grabbed my switchblade and attacked him. Luckily Sam was able to deflect the knife, but got stabbed in the arm. Sam got the knife away from me, but I still thought it was Owens and I was scared he might use the knife on me so I struggled to get away from him...And then I finally woke up..."
"Damn, where was I?" Dean asked trying to see through the fog in his memory.
"You were passed out in my bed." Bobby answered gently placing a hand on Christina's shoulder. "Come on, kid. Why don't you come with me? Let your older brothers get some rest alright?"
"Okay." She answered gratefully, standing up and grabbing a jacket from the coat rack next to the door.
"Try and get some rest both of you. Ya look like crap. I may need you fit for a case that's come up."
"Will do Bobby." Sam and Dean both answered before watching as their sister and Bobby left the house. They hoped she might talk to Bobby or at least relax a bit being away from them and the memories.
~DSCWIN~
The intense pain started about two hours later and Lark doubled over almost wrecking the car as she gasped for breath. She got the car to the side of the road out of traffic and cried out softly trying to draw in a slow breath. Tears flooded her eyes and leaked from them but she didn't care. All she could think of was not passing out, not yet...Not out here like this.
"Please God; I need to get to Dean. Please help me..." she prayed as she tried to control her pain. "He needs me...He needs to know I..." she tried to say but bit off the words as another sharp pain ran through her.
A tapping on the car window had Lark jerking in surprise and doubling over in pain. She couldn't see who was at her door and wasn't sure what to do. Before she realized it, her door opened and a man leaned in to look at her.
"Lark, are you okay?" Castiel asked seeing the intense pain on her face and the tears running from her eyes.
"Cas?" she gasped out looking in shock at him not sure how he got there.
"I heard your prayer and came to help." He said laying a hand on her forehead and using the last of his power to heal the worse of her injuries. He staggered slightly as she sat up and wiped her face. "Are...you better now?" he asked weakly.
"Yes, but what happened to you?" she asked getting out and letting him sit down.
"I used up my grace healing you. It will replenish, but it will take time. Unfortunately I can't take us to Bobby's. You will have to drive."
"That may be a problem..." Lark sighed as she moved her body feeling most of the aches and pain gone. "I'm almost out of gas and I have no money."
"Dean gave me one of these for emergencies." Castiel said rummaging around in his pockets until he finally pulled out a credit card.
"Thank goodness, I love you Cas." she cried taking the card and then kissing it before rewarding Castiel with a peck on the cheek too. "C'mon let's get you in the other seat and I'll stop at the next exit to fill up."
Lark helped Castiel to stand and moved him around the car to the passenger side and got him settled. She ran back to the driver's side and got in, checked the traffic and pulled back out onto the road.
"What happened to you?" he questioned when he saw bandages sticking out the neck of the tee shirt she was wearing and the dark bruise on the side of her face.
"I was in a car accident. I think I almost died, but this little girl showed me things that made me want to live."
"Little girl?" Castiel questioned not sure who she could be talking about.
Lark nodded. "She said she wasn't an angel yet? I'm not sure what she was, but she showed me Dean and he was hurt, I think he was dying. How is he? Please say he's okay." she said looking briefly at Castiel before back to the road.
"He did sustain injuries on a hunt, but I healed what I could. He's alive. As for the little girl, you must have been talking to one of the Powers that took on the child's form."
"Powers?" she questioned with a frown. "I'm not sure I know what that is."
"They are one of the orders of angels; they deal with birth and death. It seems someone wanted to be sure you lived." Castiel said looking at her in a different light. "You must be tasked with a greater purpose for them to want you alive. That is a great honor to have met one. Very few humans are granted an audience with them."
"Oh that doesn't sound impending at all." Lark said sarcastically mulling over why some Heavenly being would want her alive and for what purpose. "There's an exit, I'll stop for gas. Do you need food or drink or anything to help you replenish your grace?"
"No just rest..." Castiel said as his eyes closed and his head slowly rolled to the side.
Lark looked over at him a little worried since she had never dealt with angels before and hoped he would be okay. At least some of the burden was lifted when Castiel told her Dean was okay. She could let herself breathe easy again knowing she would see him soon. She pulled up to a pump and got out to fill the car thinking maybe she'd grab something to eat and drink too. She needed nutrients, as her body shook telling her that if she wanted to get to Dean, she first needed to take care of herself.
Lark was already trying to work on what she would say to Dean when she saw him and wondered now that she knew he was okay, should she really go to him. Would going to him just complicate both their lives more then it already was? She couldn't stop the doubt that wanted to invade her thoughts. Lark headed inside, giving Castiel one last glance to be sure he was okay.