When Cas awoke the next morning it was to an empty bed. He shivered. The sheets were on the floor and the warm body that had comforted him at night was vacant. Mind fuzzy and half asleep he rolled out of bed, pulled on some boxers and a t-shirt, and went to search for his boyfriend.
He discovered Dean sitting at the table already dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and his worn leather jacket, sipping a cup of coffee and glowering at the front page of the newspaper. Cas stumbled over and placed his hands on Dean's back, running them over his shoulders, down his chest, and leaning in for a kiss. Dean pecked his lips, but then turned back to the paper, his brows furrowed.
"What has you up so early?" Cas asked as he let go of Dean and fixed himself a cup of coffee.
"Early shift at the shop," Dean mumbled not looking at Cas.
"Come on," Cas whined playfully as he took a seat next to his partener. "Bobby couldn't give you a few more hours to spend with me?"
Dean answered, but still didn't look up. "People want their cars fixed on time Cas. They won't be happy if their car gets delayed because I wanted to spend two more hours with my boyfriend. Plus you have to go into work today too. First day on your new job."
Cas grumbled and rubbed his eyes trying to get away the sleepiness and the stubborn headache that apparently wasn't planning to go away. He looked up at Dean who was still reading the paper and not paying him any mind. "Dean," he said awakened now by his annoyance. "What has you so focused that you can't even look at me when I talk to you?"
At this Dean looked up. "This," he said and shoved the paper under Cas' nose.
Cas grabbed the paper and read the head line. Jewelry Shop Owner Brutally Murdered.
He scanned the article and then, deciding it was worth reading, began at the beginning.
" Daniel Myers was murdered in his shop on third Avenue yesterday evening around 5:40. It appears that the attack was planned as there was no video evidence of the assault. Police say that the cameras were completely destroyed with no hope of recovery. Mr. Myers was described by locals as a gentle, caring man, very religious. Myers was always seen at church and was known for his profound faith in the Lord. " He would do anything for you if you just asked" said one concerned citizen. Myers was found late Thursday night when his wife went to check on him after he did not come home at his normal time and did not answer his phone. Police say that Myers was left on the floor with a strange metal knife in his chest and odd markings on the floor beneath him. Anyone with information on the murder is asked to come to the police station on 10th street.
Cas glanced at the picture of the shop and gasped. That is where he went to get Dean's ring. 5:40, the article had said. That had to be minutes after Cas had left! He thought back to the shop and the jolly man that was to engrave his ring. He thought too of that suspicious man who had come in after him. The man had seemed so out of place in the delicate little shop. Was it possible that he was the murderer? Could Cas have stopped him? Should he report this to the police?
"Cas?"
Cas looked up and noticed Dean looking at him with deep concern.
"Cas, do you know something?"
"I…" he started. "I was there, at the shop… it had to have been, minutes.. before.." He stopped talking, unable to continue due to the lump rising in his throat. Dean stood and wrapped his arms around Cas' shoulders.
"Did you see anything?"
Cas shook his head curtly. "Nothing suspicious." he paused before saying. "There was this man." Dean looked curious so he continued. "He looked really out of place in the jewelry shop. Maybe…" but he couldn't continue.
"Baby, you should report that to the police."
Cas shook his head. "It could be nothing."
Dean looked at his watch and growled. "I have to leave or else I'll be late for work. Are you gonna be okay?" Cas gave a stiff nod, and Dean gave him a quick unsteady kiss. "Tonight we'll go to the station okay. Together." Cas didn't respond but Dean seemed to take his silence as an agreement.
After Dean left Castiel cleaned himself up and prepared for work, but he still felt like a wreck knowing he might have been able to save this mans life if only he had stayed a few more minutes. When he arrived at work Charlie came rushing up to him buzzing with some sort of news, but Cas blew her off and continued to his office. He didn't want to confront anyone today.
When he reached his new office he was surprised to see his door ajar and even more surprised to see Uriel and Chuck sitting on his sofa.
"Ah Castiel." Chuck stood as he entered the room. "We've been waiting for you."
This much was obvious to Cas, but he didn't voice his opinion. He was not at all pleased to see Uriel's scowling face occupying his office but he moved into the room and closed the door behind him.
Chuck continued. "I ah… I know this is short notice." He glanced at Uriel. "But there has been a development, and I'm afraid we are going to have to send you off sooner than we thought."
Uriel stood. "The papers are here. You will be traveling to Kansas. We will provide for you and one other person to take the trip." He said this grudgingly as if this was not to his approval. "You will be leaving tonight. Your flight is at nine. Don't miss it." He shoved the papers into Cas' hands and then retreated from the room.
Cas looked at Chuck with a bewildered expression on his face. "Kansas?" was all he could manage.
"Yes, there is a small operation there interested in our products. All of the information is in the folder. I apologize for the short notice." He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but thought better of it, and he too left.
Castiel opened the folder and two plane tickets fell onto the floor. He bent over to retrieve them. "Well," he said out loud to no one. "I guess I'm going to kansas."
It was seven-thirty that evening when Cas and Dean pulled in at the small West Virginia Airport. They unloaded their luggage from the trunk of Cas' car and hauled it through the automatic doors up to the metal detectors where they waited in line to be scanned. Cas followed behind Dean feeling groggy and unfocused. The people around him seemed to move in slow motion and his vision was slightly blurred. He was vaguely aware of an old woman in a flowered hat staring at him from the next line over. Her eyes seemed to follow him as he moved through the line, her expression unreadable. Her eyes locked onto Cas's; as they did a sharp pain shot through his head and he yelled doubling over in the line.
"Cas?!" Dean grabbed Cas's arm, helping him back to his feet. "What the hell was that?!"
Cas rubbed his temples, the ever present headache growing worse by the day. "Nothing, just this migraine I've had for a few days."
"A few days? Have you taken any medication?"
Cas nodded. "I took my normal migraine pills, but it hasn't really helped. It's nothing to worry about," He added at the concerned look on Dean's face.
As his boyfriend turned to once again face the front of the line, Cas glanced over to where the woman with the flower hat had been standing. She was gone. Unnerved he sluggishly followed Dean through the airport as they searched for their terminal.
"Come on, babe, let's get some coffee while we wait for the flight, you look like hell."
"Wow thanks," Cas mumbled as Dean drug him into a nearby Starbucks and ordered him a double shot espresso. "If I drink this i'm going to be awake the whole flight."
"Just drink it. Maybe the caffeine will help with your head."
Cas obeyed and drank down the coffee, but the caffeine did not help with his head, it only seemed to make things worse. A few minutes later dark spots began to swim through his visions Cas tried to say Dean's name, but it came out as a mumble. His headache increased and darkness clouded his vision. The last thing he saw was the old flower hat woman grinning evilly at him from across the terminal, her black eyes glinting.
"Cas, come on baby wake up!"
Cas grunted and opened his eyes. He was laying on the terminal floor, Dean crouched next to him, and a small crowd of people he didn't recognize stood over him. "What happened?" He mumbled groggily.
"You passed out… Are you sure you're alright? Maybe we shouldn't fly."
"No, no," Cas said quickly, pushing himself into a sitting position and trying to ignore the pain in his head and the sick feeling in his stomach. "I'm fine, really. Guess I forgot to eat dinner."
"Cas, you didn't pass out because of dinner. Are you sure you're alright? What about your head?"
"I'm fine, Dean," he insisted, standing up to prove it. The crowd of people, seemingly convinced of his well being, began to disperse. "Hey, Dean, did you see that old woman with the big flower hat over there?"
Dean looked in the direction of Cas's finger. "No, Cas, there was no woman with a big flower hat. I would have seen her."
"Right, just checking," but he couldn't get the image of those beady black eyes out of his mind. It just seemed too real to be a hallucination.
