WARNING: CHILD ABUSE

Sweetheart

Kelly and her husband stood outside their car, eyes zeroed in on the house in front of them. They were a skip-tracer team and their job was to locate a fugitive (skip) that couldn't be found at their usual hangout. According to the information they had gathered, their "skip" was called Andrew Decker. He had disappeared a couple of days ago and was now on the run from authorities. After digging up everything they could about him though, Kelly and her husband had finally traced Andrew to a little house in Georgia.

"You ready for this?"

Kelly smirked at her husband. "As ready as ever," she answered and she raised a brow at him. "How about you, Rob?"

"I'm ready to get this over with and go home." Kelly's husband- Rob-pulled at his clothes. "It's so muggy here."

A laugh rumbled past Kelly's lips. She and Rob were from Chicago and were much more used to cold wind and snow. Though Kelly wasn't affected much by the heat, Rob certainly was. They had gone to Hawaii for their honeymoon five years ago and the poor guy had spent half of it with a cold compress on his head. Even now, Kelly was sure they'd have to hunt one down when they went back to their hotel.

"Come on, Babe," Kelly said and she started towards the house. "We'll stop for ice-cream on the way back."

Rob let out a happy whoop and quickly followed his wife.

The inside of the house, to say the least, was a mess. Glass and torn up paper littered the place. Most alarmingly; however, was the blood in the shape of a tiny handprint on the white wall.

"K..Kells," Rob whispered and he shined a flashlight on the handprint. "He's not alone here."

"Keep your guard up."

Kelly moved forward, determination in each and every step. She wasn't just completing a job now. There was someone- a child- who needed her and Rob's help.

A loud crash sent both Kelly and Rob racing up the steps of the house and up into the attack.

What they found took both Kelly and Rob's breath away and not in a good way. Andrew was standing in front of a shattered mirror. In his fist, he held the throat of a little boy with dirty blond hair. The poor thing was limp in Andrew's hand and blood was dripping down the shattered glass of the mirror he was being crushed against.

"Drop him, Andrew!" Kelly yelled.

Andrew started and dropped the little boy. The kid coughed into the floorboards, letting out terrible hacking and wheezing sounds as he struggled to catch his breath.

"We're taking you in, Andrew," Rob said and he started walking towards the man with a pair of handcuffs. "Let's do this the easy way, okay?"

Andrew shook his head. "No," he growled. "No, you don't understand. You don't understand!"

Rob held up his hands, "Andrew-"

"No!" Andrew pointed down at the little boy. "He's a demon! A demon! I need to-"

"He's just a little boy, Andrew," Kelly corrected. She could feel her blood boiling in her veins. "Put your hands-"

"NO!" Andrew pointed at the boy more urgently. "He has wings! Wings!"

Kelly looked back at the little boy again, her breath catching in her throat.

Andrew wasn't lying.

Rob loved bird watching and once took Kelly out to the woods with him for one of their first dates. They had watched a cardinal couple chatter back and forth together and though the male cardinal's feathers were stunning, Kelly couldn't help but be drawn to the beautiful tan and red colors of the female.

On the boy's back was a similar set of wings. They were a warm tan color with a few red feathers weaved within.

Andrew grinned ear to ear. "See?" he said urgently. "He's a monster!"

Rob jumped at him then, tackling Andrew to the floor. In a few quick movements, he cuffed the man and knocked him out with a quick punch.

"Rob!"

"Sorry." Rob let out a heavy breath. "I couldn't listen to him anymore."

Kelly shook her head and fixed her attention back to the little boy still coughing into the floorboards. She approached him carefully and placed a hand on the boy's back, careful not to touch his wings. One was twisted at a weird angle and Kelly felt her heart flop as she looked at it.

The little boy cried out not in pain but fear as Kelly touched him and tried to wiggle away from her. Another coughing fit stopped him though and he broke into a fit of hysterical sobs as his fear and trauma started to stifle him.

"Oh, sweetheart," Kelly hushed and she started to rub the little boy's back. "You're okay. You're okay, sweetheart. No one's going to hurt you."

"Kells, what are we going to do?" Rob asked. His eyes were on the boy's wings. "We can't get him an ambulance. They'll..."

"I know." Kelly bit her lip. "We'll take him with us."

"What?"

"We can do this."

Kelly met Rob's gaze and the two of them stared at each other, a silent conversation passing between them. For all they knew, the wings on the poor boy's back were due to some form of mutation. There was no doubt he'd be poked and prodded if they took him to a hospital and right now that wasn't what he needed. He needed someone to hold him, take care of him. He needed someone to love him.

"Okay." Rob pulled out his phone. "I'll call it in. You take the kid back to the hotel."

Kelly nodded and bent down, trying to catch the little boy's gaze. He peaked at her nervously but held her gaze.

"Hey, sweetheart," Kelly said in a soft voice. "My name's Kelly. Do you want me to come with me?"

The little boy just stared at her, scared.

"No one is going to hurt you, I promise. You'll be safe."

"Safe?"

Kelly felt tears build in her eyes. His voice was so soft and shaky. It made her heart bleed out for him and all she wanted to do was pull him into her arms and never let him go.

"That's right, sweetheart. What's your name?"

The boy tensed.

"You don't have to tell me," Kelly reassured quickly. "I just want you to feel comfortable." She held out her hands. "How about we go somewhere safe, okay?"

The boy hesitated but instead of curling into himself like Kelly expected, he sat up on his knees and held his hands out to Kelly.

Tears fell from Kelly's eyes and she carefully took the little boy into her arms. He buried his face into her neck, letting out a series of shaky sobs. Kelly held him through it, hushing him gently and carding her fingers through his hair. It wasn't long before he cried himself to sleep and hung limp and relaxed within her arms.

Back at the hotel, Kelly sat in her's and Dan's shared bed. In her lap, the now awake little boy she had rescued stared up at her with wide, frightened eyes.

"I have to set it, Sweetheart. It'll hurt more if I don't."

She was talking about the wing that was still twisted at a weird angle on the boy's back. She had managed to dress most of his wounds while he slept but he had woken up before she even had the chance to think about touching his wing. Now he was staring at her, looking like he regretted taking her hand earlier.

"I promised I'd keep you safe," Kelly reminded. "And a promise is a promise. You will be safe with me, sweetheart, but that wing needs fixing."

The little boy swallowed hard. "Fast?" he asked.

Kelly nodded. "I'll do it as quick as I can," she promised.

After another hesitant minute, the little boy settled down on his belly against the mattress of the bed. He gripped the sheets and bared his wings to Kelly. He was trusting Kelly. Even after everything he's gone through, he was trusting her.

Kelly knew couldn't screw this up.

Taking a deep breath, Kelly got to work. She had set a hawk wing back in place once when she lived back in the country with her parents. The poor thing had fallen from its tree and though it had been difficult, Kelly had managed to help the poor animal. Kelly just prayed that this went as well.

Screams filled the hotel room as Kelly set the wing and splinted it but, in the end, all had gone well and the boy's wing was finally taken care of.

"Drink this, sweetheart," Kelly whispered and she tipped a small paper cup half-filled with water to the boy's lips.

The angel didn't drink it. Instead, he uncurled himself from the mattress and crawled into Kelly's lap. He clutched at her shirt and tried to wrap his good wing around her.

"Sweetheart?"

"C...Constantine."

"W...what?"

"My name...Constantine."

Kelly stared in shock down at the little boy and once again felt tears building in her eyes.

His name. He told her his name.

"Thank you for trusting me, Constantine," Kelly said and she held him closer to herself. "Thank you so much."

"Safe."

"That's right, sweetheart," Kelly sniffled. "You're safe with me."

They sat like that for what felt like hours until the door to the hotel room opened and Rob walked in. He was quiet as he moved but made sure that Constantine could hear him so he wouldn't be too startled. He had a bag of burgers in one hand and a pack of juice pouches in the other.

Constantine followed Rob carefully with his eyes as he moved closer. He was tense in Kelly's arms but that tension lessened when Rob gave him a gentle smile.

"Hey, kiddo," Rob said, voice soft. "I brought you some food. Hungry?"

Constantine nodded but didn't move from Kelly's arms.

Rob didn't get discouraged though. Instead, he reached into the bag and pulled out a small cheeseburger and held it out to the little boy.

Constantine's belly growled and a blush colored his cheeks as both Rob and Kelly chuckled. It took a little time but Constantine eventually reached out and grabbed the burger from Rob's hands. He bit into it, his face lighting up as the taste hit him.

"Good, huh?"

Constantine nodded, smiling sweetly at Rob with his pretty blue eyes.

Rob fished out a burger for himself and Kelly then and the two of them joined Constantine in eating their dinner.

"So did you find out your little sweetheart's name?"

"Constantine," Constantine answered for Kelly.

Rob blinked down at the angel, surprised. "Huh." He smiled then. "I love that show."

Constantine tilted his head to the side, clearly confused and not catching Rob's reference.

Rob just laughed and handed Constantine a juice pouch. Constantine took it gratefully, his face lighting up again. He was definitely a grape juice fan.

As they ate, Kelly watched silently as Constantine slowly warmed up to both her and Rob. Her thoughts were everywhere as she did. Of all the things she had imagined happening today, taking in an abused little boy with angel wings was something she didn't expect. She couldn't help but wonder what to do next. She couldn't just send him to child services. God knows how they'd react to the wings sprouting from his back and the stress of being sent away to strangers he didn't trust would no doubt hurt the poor little boy.

"Kells."

Kelly looked up and found her husband staring at her lap. She looked down then, following his gaze down to Constantine. The angel's eyes were drooping, sleep slowly taking him over.

"Are you tired, sweetheart?"

Constantine nodded and Kelly scooped him up and started to tuck him into the bed they were all seated on. He kept her hand in his as she did and even when she finished, he didn't let go.

"Stay?"

Kelly kissed the hand in hers. "Yeah, sweetheart. I'll stay." She glanced at Rob. "We both will."

Constantine smiled up at her and slowly drifted off, soft snores easing past his lips.

A larger hand slipped over Kelly's and Constantine's suddenly and Kelly looked up, meeting her husband's gaze. There were tears in his eyes as he stared at her and a sad smile on his lips.

"Kells, I know this is...really sudden but..." Rob looked back at Constantine. "I...don't think we should...I don't want to..."

Kelly smiled at her husband and wiped his tears with her free hand. "I don't want to leave him either," she told him.

Rob let out a shaky laugh. "Glad we're on the same page," he said.

Kelly knew just as much as Rob did that there was a chance that somewhere out there Constantine had a family that was looking for and missing him. They knew that but until they tracked them down for their little boy- no, their little angel- they would love and cherish him like he was there own.

Thank you, deathraptor22, for the skip-tracer request! Constantine was the angel in S9 Ep 22 who committed suicide by carving an Energy Focusing Sigil in his chest.