Hey guys! Back with another one! And I had a few reviews for the last chapter, and I would like to respond to them.
Bornrider2: You'll have to read to find your answer. But thank you for the compliment. :)
TheAngelWithBlackWings99: Yeeeaaah, I had it differently before I posted it, then I read it and thought "Wow, I sound so freaking cliche it hurts." So I changed it around and we got that. x3 But thank you for the kind words, m'dear. I hope you enjoy this one.
AlexandraMills: ...I'm so sorry...but I must put a cyber hellhound into the story...it's the only way to introduce the plot...I'll tell you know, it's not gonna be a smooth, pain-free ride. Please don't hate me when the time comes. TT~TT And thank you for liking the story.
All right, let's get this ball rolling. And before anyone asks, YES, I drink the same thing almost every time I go there, and YES, I've actually gone there in the middle of the night just because I wanted something sweet. And it was with my older sister that we started this weird tradition of midnight cravings started.
So read on!
"What kind of problem? What happened?!" As Castiel was about to answer his questions, the door to the classroom was thrown open. Everyone turned to see who had come in, but the person was running towards the boy on the floor.
"ETHAN!" It was the woman whom Castiel had spoken with this morning. She was crying when she looked to everyone one at a time. "What happened?! Did the lights start flickering? Was a child doing it?"
Castiel shook his head quickly, kneeling next to her. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and he thought about how someone had done that not long ago to him when he had been terrified.
"Yes, the lights were flickering, but there was visible flashing from the lightning outside as well. Are lights the trigger for his seizures?" The woman started sobbing, nodding her head as she started stroking Ethan's cheek. He had been turned onto his side to prevent him from choking, and had stopped seizing, but now they had to worry about when he hit his head, if it was true that he did.
Castiel glanced to Gabriel, who had stood and moved away when the woman had charged in. He raised the phone back to his ear. "Sir, Stella says that when the boy collapsed due to his seizure, she saw him hit his head on a chair." The woman froze, turning to meet Castiel's eyes.
"…Has he stopped seizing?"
"Yes, a couple of minutes ago, but he hasn't come around yet."
"How long did it last, from start to finish?" Castiel looked to the clock, but he hadn't even thought of it. He felt something brush his arm, and he turned his head to find Sam kneeling beside him.
"It was thirty-two seconds." Well, at least he had thought to time the boy's seizure. Castiel nodded his thanks, and Sam gave him a small smile in return before he stood and went back to Dean and the children.
"It lasted thirty-two seconds."
"And you said he hit his head on a chair before he hit the floor?"
"Yes, that's what Stella claims to have seen. But he may have hit his head on the tile as well." The floor was made of tile, and the only rug on the floor was in the opposite corner of the room to be sat on while the children watched videos for class.
"Tell me when he wakes up. If he doesn't start to regain consciousness within the next two minutes, we may have to take drastic measures if the electricity hasn't returned. I've been hearing a few reports of traffic lights being down, and a few wrecks have happened at some intersections near the school. I'm going to call Uriel at dispatch, see if there are any units available that are close enough. If there aren't, you're going to have to fly this boy to the ER here, Cas."
Castiel was shocked, to say the least. Angels weren't allowed to fly without their owner's permission, and only if the owner has gotten permission from the local police or emergency rescue. As if those rules weren't enough, the Angel also has to be escorted by a minimum of two Angel officers, known as the 'Aerial Enforcement Squad', to the intended destination.
"But that would take too long! And I can't fly in this weather, it's to-" Castiel started to protest, but he was cut off by Jackson before he could get too far into his argument.
"CASTIEL! Listen to me! The storm and the worst of the rain has blown over, it's mostly just a sprinkle of rain here and there. It will be fine! Besides, don't you remember when I took you for your health test in Cassity and they had you fly around to test your speed? You weren't even pushing yourself and you broke the state aerial speed record for Angels! You can get him here in almost no time. Don't doubt yourself with that. Now I need to call Uriel. I'll call you when I know what's going on."
Castiel stayed silent for a few seconds. He had never really liked being told he was extraordinary in any way, not after the werewolf. The news had been trying to claw down his throat for interviews and statements. He had been forced to stay within the manor for two weeks afterwards before it became calm again.
"I understand. Goodbye." He snapped the phone shut, ending the call. He looked to the woman, who was quietly watching him. Castiel then turned to look at Sam and Dean, but found that Dean was talking on the phone with someone at the other end of the room. He could hear pieces of what was being said, but not that much.
"…may need to…Yeah…leave him with…sure he'll be fine with…Bobby, you don't get it, I…I feel…yeah…yeah, I got it…soon…don't forget…" Castiel glanced over to find Sam watching him. The green Angel made a small patting motion in the air, and then looked away to speak with his brother, who was walking back towards them.
"So, what did Bobby say?" Dean gave his brother a soft glare, wings flaring slightly behind him and settling again. Castiel's gaze was immediately drawn to the action, as a cat would a laser.
"He gave us the go-ahead, and said that Ben would be fine staying with Gabriel for a few hours. I'm set to go. You?" Sam dipped his chin, then turned back to Castiel with a kind smile.
"Bobby Singer is our owner, Ben's grandfather. He said it was alright for us to escort you to the hospital if you had to fly him in." He quickly glanced to the clock hanging on the far wall. "Which may be the case. He's been unconscious for too long, he should have started to wake up by now."
Castiel nodded, knowing how dangerous the situation was. Any number of things could have happened when Ethan hit his head. He was shocked out of his thoughts when he felt a tight grip on his arm, finding it to be Ethan's mother.
"Our Angel's names are Lucifer and Balthazar. When you get Ethan to the hospital, tell a nurse that Sarah Blake is his mother and if they admit him, to put him in the same room with Lucifer. God forbid they do, but if it comes to it…" She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, as if she couldn't accept the thought. She opened her eyes and pinned him with a watery stare. "You take care of him until Bal is by his side." She squeezed her hand on Castiel's arm, and then released him.
Castiel's phone started to ring at that moment. He quickly flipped it open, not even looking at the ID.
"Has he woken up yet?"
"No. What did Uriel have to say?" Castiel was praying it was the better option of an ambulance. But his prayers seemed to be ignored.
"He said that all of the dispatch units, including him, are busy at the moment with car wrecks and minor injuries at corporate buildings. You're going to have to fly him to me, Cas. I called Garth at the police station and he said all of the AES Angels that are on duty have been sent out to a few of the officers on location. We can't break the law for this. You'll have to wait for escort."
Castiel glanced to the brothers standing next to him. "Sir, do you happen to know Bobby Singer?"
Jackson was quiet for a moment. "Bobby Singer of Singer Salvage Yard? Yeah, what about the old coot?"
"What was his job before he started the yard?"
"Uh, he was the chief of police about five years ago. Why do you- OH SWEET MOTHER MARY! Are his Angels there?! Cas, those two were trained by Bobby and the force! They're honorary AES! They can escort you here!"
Sam and Dean could hear Jackson's outburst, and they both nodded to Castiel.
"Get that boy here as soon as you can. Leave NOW, Cas!" A click was the only indication of the call ending. Castiel quickly closed the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. He gave a determined look to Sarah before gently scooping Ethan into his arms, lifting him from the ground easily. He then turned to Ms. Welch, who had been letting the Angels do what they did best: protect and care for the people around them.
When he looked over to Gabriel, his poor brother was swarmed with children. Stella was perched on his hip, Faith clinging to his leg in a tight grip, and Ben standing at his side with his large hand enveloping the boys'. If the circumstances weren't so serious, Castiel may have cracked a mother hen joke. Gabriel's golden coloring didn't help his situation with it, either.
Castiel then turned and started walking towards the door, feeling the two dominants following him on his flanks, with Dean stepping in front of him to open the door to the hallway. Once the door was opened, Castiel could see an Angel start to herd the children and other Angels away from the door, clearing the hallway for the trio to quickly jog to main entrance. They saw Principal Ken Osland, the school's SRO officer, and other office staff members standing in a group outside of the office with flashlights.
Principal Osland was the first to see them. "What are you doing? Where are you taking that child?!" He stepped forward, putting himself between the Angels and the front entrance. Sam stepped up just then, raising his hands in a placating gesture, yet he stared the man down with a stare that promised rebellion if refused.
"Sir, the flickering lights and lightning flashes triggered his tonic reflex epilepsy, causing him to have a seizure in the classroom when the power went out. He injured himself during that time, and he hasn't regained consciousness since it ended. One of Castiel's owners is the chief physician at E.G. Hospital, and told him to fly Ethan to the hospital as all emergency dispatch vehicles are otherwise occupied around the city. My brother and I belong to Robert Singer, the former chief of police. We're honorary AES, and Bobby has given us permission, along with Garth Fitzgerald, the current police chief, to escort him. Ethan's mother, Ms. Blake, also gave her permission for Castiel to take him. Their family Angels are at E.G. as well, so once we get there, one of them will take over Ethan's care. Now, please move out of our way, sir. We're in a bit of a hurry." Sam immediately stepped forward, causing the much shorter man to stumble in his hurry to get out of the Angel's way.
Castiel hugged Ethan closer to his chest, jogging to keep up with Sam's long-legged stride to the door, and following close behind him outside, only breaking away to run to a section of concrete not covered by the metal awning overhead.
Sam and Dean came to stand on either side of him, and he leveled them with a hard stare. And, as usual when a situation calls for Castiel to be utterly serious, his voice dropped to be lower than his normal tone.
"Keep up."
He would never admit to anyone, and he would take it to the grave the small amount of satisfaction he got from seeing the slight puff of Dean's feathers from arousal.
Which was utterly ridiculous.
Castiel sat down hard in the uncomfortable plastic chair that resided in the waiting room of the ER at E.G. Hospital. He had just gotten done being briefed by an 'official' AES Angel about his emergency flight through the city. Now it was Dean's turn, and Castiel had been told to wait here in the waiting room for a follow up. (Needless to say, Castiel was exhausted. He needed to ask Jackson if it would be possible to drive over to Cassity so he could work out his wings.)
It had been three hours since they had arrived, a half hour after the AES Angel had arrived for debriefing, and two and a half hours after Castiel had been bear hugged by an emotional submissive Angel named Balthazar. Castiel hadn't seen his mate, Lucifer, but he knew Balthazar's mate must be incredibly patient to handle such a sassy Angel. That he was from an English family originally and had the accent just made the sass sound so much more…sassy.
He was startled out of his thoughts when something cold touched his forehead. He jerked back, looking up to find Jackson standing in front of him with a big styrofoam cup in his hand, holding it out to Castiel with a smile.
"I think that since you had to fly here, deal with an interrogation, and be stuck here with me until we can go home, I thought you could use a little pick-me-up." He gently shook the large cup he held. "RT 44 cherry slush with nerds candy and blackberry flavoring. I'm assuming that this one is what you like, right?" Jackson had barely finished speaking when he was quickly hugged (a small, happy chirrup may have slipped out of Castiel's mouth), and then the cup snatched out of his hand.
Castiel had already perched himself back in his chair, blissfully ignorant of the world around him now that he had his 'Angel Crack', as Jackson has taken to calling his drink. It wasn't his fault that Gabriel had come to their house in the middle of the night, wanting something sweet (his supply had run out at his own home) and dragging Castiel along with him to the closest Sonic in the city, and consequently making him addicted to the sweet icy drinks. The flavors had started simply enough: cherry, grape, blue raspberry, lime. But then Gabriel had decided to add nerds to his drink in the order one day, and he was hooked. Again. And once again, Gabriel decided to play trickster and told them to add another flavor to Castiel's slush, and voila, 'Angel Crack' had come into existence.
Jackson chuckled at his Castiel's antics.
"And Cas." Castiel peeked up at Jackson from under his eyelashes. "Anna and I don't mind if Gabriel and Stella come over to the house this weekend for a sleepover. And one of those Angels that came with you can come, too, if you want. Doesn't Bobby have a grandson that's Faith's age?"
Castiel nodded. "Yes, his name is Ben. Before that storm came through, those three were actually talking about playing pirates together." He didn't mention that they had only started that topic to try to calm him.
Jackson smiled. "Well, that's good to hear. At least they won't argue over games. You can suggest the idea to them when they're done. But for now, I have piles of paperwork to do. I'll see you in a bit, Cas."
Castiel dipped his chin. "If I find out your office here is just as messy as home, I WILL go in there and clean it." Jackson froze his steps, before resuming at a brisk pace. Castiel chuckled to himself.
'Works like a charm.'
YEEEEESSSSSSSS. I made Bobby ex-police chief, Garth the police chief, Uriel the head of emergency dispatch, and Sarah is a single mom of two.
And just FYI, when I read the part of Jackson realizing what Cas is getting at about knowing Bobby, I can imagine him kinda walking at a quick pace, then stopping in the middle of the hall with a stupid look on his face, then making an expression like he just got jabbed in the side.
If you want to listen to my inspiration for the whole thing, listen to 'So Young So High - Tiesto Remix" by DaDa Life. I also listened to it while I wrote the scene where they leave the school. The drop happened when I wrote Cas's "Keep up." It was perfect.
But tell me what you guys think. You have NO IDEA how happy reviews make me. I'll get an email about it and I'll be smiling like a dork for the rest of the day.
All the love,
Wisty